It appears the Falcons were not willing to pay Deshaun Watson what he wanted. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Deshaun Watson trade to Falcons fell through late over money?

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 3/18/22

Deshaun Watson’s decision to accept a trade to the Cleveland Browns came as a shock. That was mostly down to the fact that the Browns were not one of his finalists initially, while two other teams were.

The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons were seen as the leaders for Watson, with the Falcons in particular making a very strong push for the quarterback. Atlanta did come close to a Watson trade, according to James Palmer of NFL Network. However, Watson’s camp made late demands for more money and guarantees in order to accept a trade, which the Falcons balked at.

The #falcons thought they were close. Very close to landing Watson. And they were actually working something out, but late in the talks came even more demands including more money and guarantees per sources.

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) March 18, 2022

Money appears to be the driving issue here. When the Browns came in and offered to pay Watson $230 million in guarantees, Atlanta had to either step up or miss out on Watson, and it chose the latter option.

We do not know how far the Falcons were willing to go to get Watson, though it seemed they were willing to do more than one rival team. Coming anywhere close to the level of guarantees from the Browns was simply a bridge too far.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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