George Paton is the Denver GM who traded for Russell Wilson. He was the runner-up to Andrew Berry for the Browns' GM job in 2020.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Leftovers from the NFL Combine …
Everyone who listened to Sean Payton’s Combine interview last week understood that the Denver Broncos were intent on releasing quarterback Russell Wilson before a contract trigger guaranteed Wilson another $37 million in 2025.
On Monday, the Broncos and Wilson confirmed his release from the club.
So it’s fair to evaluate Denver’s trade for Wilson as one of the colossal worst deals of all time in the NFL.
For now.
In May, 2022, the Broncos acquired Wilson and a fourth-round draft pick from the Seattle Seahawks for two first-round picks, two second-rounders and one in the fifth round, along with three players – quarterback Drew Locke, tight end Noah Fant and defensive lineman Shelby Harris.
(The Seahawks released Harris last year and he signed with the Browns.)
In September, the Broncos added to their mistake by signing Wilson to a five-year, $242.6 million contract extension with about $161 million in guarantees.
The Broncos proceeded to go 11-19 in Wilson’s 30 starts over two seasons.
For that, the Broncos wound up paying $161 million, including a $37 million guarantee for 2024 triggered last year. The release will cost the Broncos $85 million in “dead money” – or lost cap room – over the next two years. It breaks down to $35.4 million in lost cap room in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025.
The architect of the trade and contract extension was Denver GM George Paton, who somehow retained his position under new Broncos ownership and the addition of Payton in 2023.
What’s interesting is that Paton was the runner-up to Andrew Berry when Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta sought to partner new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski with a GM in 2020. Paton had been in the Minnesota Vikings’ front office during Stefanski’s time there as an assistant coach.
Berry, of course, executed the controversial trade for Deshaun Watson in March of 2022.
Now, the Watson trade hasn’t turned out as bad as the Wilson trade. After all, Watson will see at least a third year with the Browns and he has a 7-4 record in two seasons with them.
But the Browns have paid $92 million and six draft picks so far for those seven wins.
With $138 million still fully guaranteed Watson, Berry needs a full, winning season out of Watson in Year 3 to avoid challenging Paton for one of the league’s worst trades of all time.
Houston, we don’t have a problem anymore
At the Combine, Texans GM Nick Caserio was all smiles answering questions about his team’s stunning turnaround from 3-13-1 in 2022 to 9-8 last season and a wild-card victory over the Browns in the first year of coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud.
In March of 2022, the Browns acquired Watson and a sixth-round pick in 2024 for first- and fourth-round picks in 2022, first- and third-round picks in 2023, and first- and fourth-round picks in 2024.
(The fourth-round pick in 2024 was not included in original reports of the deal. Sources in Houston speculated the Browns had to throw in a sixth draft pick to avoid tampering charges by the Texans when the Browns guaranteed Watson’s total contract after initially being turned down by the Watson camp.)
Following further trades of some assets of the Watson deal, Houston so far has ended up with the following players as a result of the original Watson deal:
Guard Kenyon Green, receiver John Metchie, linebacker Christian Harris, running back Dameon Pierce, defensive end Will Anderson, receiver Tank Dell, receiver Xavier Hutchinson, and safety Brandon Hill.
They also have the two Browns’ picks in this year’s draft – No. 23 overall and No. 124. The latter pick could drop after NFL compensatory picks are assigned this month.
At the Combine, I asked Caserio how much of the team’s turnaround can be traced to the trade of Watson.
Caserio could not suppress a grin upon hearing the question. But he settled himself and was careful not to take a victory lap in his response.
There’s a creed in the GM ranks: Don’t gloat about a lopsided trade because you’d like to continue the relationship with the team you just fleeced.
“I haven’t been able to keep track of all the moves,” Caserio said, “but … anytime you give up an asset you’re getting assets in return. What you do with those assets is all about the decisions that you make. We were fortunate we’ve added players that have been able to help our team.
“Each year is going to be different. But that’s in the past. Where we are today, we have a number of players that have helped our team. Hopefully that continues moving forward.
“Cleveland … all the respect for Cleveland. They have a good football team, won a lot of football games. Deshaun’s going to be a good player in this league for a long time. So we’re focused on the Houston Texans and what can we do to continue to build our team.”
About that Ken Dorsey viral video
New Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey is lengendarily “fiery” and "hyper-competitive.” Those attributes were on display in the viral video of his infamous temper tantrum in the coach’s booth during a Buffalo Bills game in 2022.
Dorsey had a meltdown when the Bills’ offense failed to stop the clock to set up a potential game-winning field goal against the Miami Dolphins. After time ran out, cameras caught Dorsey ripping off his headset and slamming it on a table, and then doing the same with his hat, playbook and electronic notebook.
The New York Post reported that earlier in the preseason, Bills QB Josh Allen joked that Dorsey had to move upstairs in the booth from the sidelines to avoid drawing penalties because of how “fiery” he was.
To which Dorsey responded at the time, “I like to think I’m not too much of a psychopath. It probably wouldn’t hurt to be up in the box in that regard.”
At Dorsey’s introduction as Browns OC, he remarked, “It was darn near like a root canal to get this job, I mean you go through a lot of testing and I met more people in this building than I have in any building I’ve ever been in.”
Berry confirmed the Browns’ long, thorough vetting process at the Combine.
So I asked Berry if part of that process included a conversation about Dorsey’s temper tantrum.
Berry responded, “It's a good question. I think that No. 1 I would say about this: I always think it's maybe a little bit shortsighted for people to judge an individual off of one of their weaker moments, a moment of emotion. Ken is uber-competitive. You should ask the Buffalo guys. He's like urban legend when it comes to pick-up hoops in terms of how competitive he is.
“But we have no concerns about him being able to manage the players, manage the coaches, manage himself. I love having competitive coaches, I love having competitive players and he's really fit in really well with us.”
When asked the same question, coach Kevin Stefanski said he did not address Dorsey’s temper in his interviews with him.
“No,” Stefanski said. “I know Ken. I know what he’s about. He is so hyper-competitive. That’s who he is. The stories of him playing pickup basketball are legendary. He wants to win. Look at his career as a player, the teams he was on, how he competed like crazy. I think he’s just such a competitive person. That one moment is really not a big deal.”
I also asked Bernie Kosar about Dorsey’s temper. Kosar has known Dorsey more than 20 years.
“That’s not him,” Kosar said of the video. “That’s a rarity right there. He’s super intense, super fiery. He has that emotion in him. When you see him stoic and not acting emotionally like that, we still have that emotion and passion residing in us. Despite [that video], he does an amazing job of keeping himself in check.”