Browns sign Ben Watson - 3 years, $12M ($6.35M GTD)

[patriotsdynasty12189]

I'll always remember him for chasing down Champ Bailey in that playoff game and some of the catches he made in 2006. He has a lot of talent its just that he never really could put it together wether it be the playcalling or something else. Good luck in Cleveland.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

=shmessy;1757949crunch time of the first Bills game last year on Monday Night Football last year. Ben Watson almost single handedly won that game - - - and Brady most certainly trusted him enough to target him multiple times in the last 4 minutes of that game.

That was a season defining quarter. Had Ben not risen from invisibility and made 2 fine big catches, one of them great, the season would have been lost to the JESTs right from the beginning. Shudder.

 

[larryo]

Cleveland Brown Ben Watson is live on Sirius NFL right now if anyone is interested.

 

[BradyFTW!]

David Thomas became a pretty good TE after he left the Pats. Daniel Graham has been a pretty good TE since leaving the Pats. If Watson does well with the Browns, then can we finally put to bed this nonsense about how the Pats don't throw to the TEs because they don't trust them? After a while, it has to become obvious to everyone that the Pats just don't value the TE very much as a pass-catching option. That's not a critique--every team has to place its priorities somewhere--it's just an observation. Welker's catches had to come at someone's expense.

 

[BradyFTW!]

definition of "never" : 3 TDs in 16 + 13 min of 2009 game with the best quarterback in football history running the offense.

definition of "outlier": 2 TDs in 2 minutes

By your definition, BB also trusts Ghost to go down and track down muffed returns on a regular basis too? Since it did happen of course.....

well you definitely wouldn't say that Ghost has never done it... since, you know, he has.

 

[ayatollah]

just watched Watson on sports final. i know class when i see it and this kid has class.
he talked a bit about the whole free agent situation and seemed sincere. with the inept coaching / play calling the pats exhibited last year, i wonder if he ever had a chance. i know he had some drops, everyone does.
i never thought I'd root for an ex pat on another team, but i wish him great success.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Nice interview with Reiss. They liked him a lot as a person and a teamate. Just not as a TE you pay a lot of money to. They encouraged him to test his market. He was disappointed but OK with that approach and glad he had the opportunity to talk to Bill and thank him for all he did for him - even after making him sign one of those evil 6 year rookie deals. Ben apparently isn't a grudge holder. He gave them first refusal. When they saw the offer, they passed. It is what it is. Bill never begrudges hardworking guys their money, even if he isn't willing to overpay them himself. Bill actually cares more about and feels more genuine affection for football players in general than the average fan. He can't let sentiment cloud his judgement, though. He's way more forgiving of their shortcomings than fans, too, provided they work hard and never stop trying to improve. Ben was a hard worker, just not a $4M TE.

Ben Watson on leaving N.E. Patriots: No hard feelings, no regrets - ESPN Boston

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Pure class. Thanks for your service as a Patriot. Best wishes.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

David Thomas became a pretty good TE after he left the Pats. Daniel Graham has been a pretty good TE since leaving the Pats. If Watson does well with the Browns, then can we finally put to bed this nonsense about how the Pats don't throw to the TEs because they don't trust them? After a while, it has to become obvious to everyone that the Pats just don't value the TE very much as a pass-catching option. That's not a critique--every team has to place its priorities somewhere--it's just an observation. Welker's catches had to come at someone's expense.

You can't be serious... Dave Thomas tripled his catches though only doubled his yards and equaled his TD's at 1... Graham has been far less productive in Denver than he was here... Given the situation in Cleveland I don't expect a different outcome for Watson. Welker didn't get here 'til 2007... Graham and Watson were here since 2002 and 2004. They could have make Welker a luxury rather than a necessity. They didn't. In fact both wanted substantially more than they were worth. So Bill moved on and shifted gears.