Will the Browns trade for Jimmy Garoppolo if Deshaun Watson has his suspension extended?

You have got to feel for everyone involved in this case. Well, almost everyone. It is difficult to muster sympathy for Deshaun Watson, since he is deep in a hole that he dug himself.

The other players in this Greek tragedy, though, just can’t seem to find their feet, continuing to stumble through the darkness, grappling at shadows. The Cleveland Browns had a solid quarterback in Baker Mayfield and let him go, much like the dog in the old proverb who sees his reflection in a river.

They traded hard, and financially were pretty unsound in their dealings by guaranteeing pretty much all of the money involved, to pick up Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, despite the pending investigation into his sexual assault of 24 women in Houston.

With the judge handing down a suspension of only six games, and this despite finding that the NFL had proven their case that he had indeed committed sexual assault, the league appealed the suspension, looking specifically into the leniency of the punishment. It is expected that they will up the ante to a one-season minimum.

Mary Kay Cabot from Cleveland.com has reported now that the Browns are revisiting their options at quarterback if this suspension is extended and could approach the San Francisco 49ers for a trade to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo.

Apparently putting their stated plan of handing the reins to Jacoby Brissett until Watson’s return, the organization would be going a completely different direction with Jimmy G.

Over on the West coast, Garoppolo has lost the starting role to Trey Lance and may jump at the chance to lead a solid Browns team into playoff contention. He still has his many supporters, including a solid number of his receiving corps, and a playoff spot with another team will cement his level of contribution to the 49ers post season run, in their eyes at least.

Mike Shanahan calls Garoppolo the best 49ers quarterback since Steve Young and he is held in high regard by team mates both here and in New England, where he was understudy to Tom Brady. Everyone talks about how what he does in practice makes their winning possible, even when he underperforms on game day.

The Browns may hope that he could be the key element to keep them in contention for when their star is reinstated, but will Jimmy G want to take what is likely to be a single-season gig? It is definitely a steep hill to climb, but the Browns have gone into this with their eyes wide open.