What will the Browns do about Deshaun Watson?

If the Browns were looking to trade Watson, he would have to waive the no-trade clause in his contract and sign his new destination, as he did when he left Houston. Either way, a deal would be difficult to strike, as many teams would be reluctant to accept his salary, and the majority of clubs have solidified their quarterback rooms in the draft and free agency.

The outright release of Watson without meaningful return seems unlikely due to Cleveland’s efforts to acquire him and because the Browns lack a long-term succession plan.

The team has excused its former starter, Baker Mayfield, from his offseason program as the front office seeks to trade him, and current replacement, journeyman Jacoby Brissett, is not considered a multi-year starter. The best way forward for the Browns, said Bill Polian, the former Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts general manager who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, is to wait for the NFL’s final decision.

“They have no choice,” Polian said. “The facts are what they are.”

At an NFL meeting in Atlanta in May, commissioner Roger Goodell said the league’s personal conduct investigation was “nearing its conclusion” and the process would soon be turned over to a disciplinary officer. The NFL can sanction Watson regardless of the outcome of the lawsuits against him if it believes he violated the league’s personal conduct policy.

How did Browns fans react?

Browns fans, deprived of the satisfaction of a championship since 1964, are unhappy, if not close to mutiny.

“It’s just sickening,” said lifelong Browns fan Robyn Lockner, 51.

Lockner, who runs the Cleveland Browns Women’s Group on Facebook, said the allegations against Watson made it that much harder to be a Browns fan. “You slap your female fan base in the face; that’s kind of how I felt,” she said.