Presumably, this will be my final comment on this year’s March Madness. Yesterday, the following headline appeared at CBSSports.com:
- 2025 NCAA Tournament: Florida vs. Houston was most-watched national championship since 2019
The game averaged 18.1 million viewers and in the final minutes 21.1 million folks were watching. That average figure for audience size was up 22% as compared to last year and was the largest audience for a Final Game since 2019 (Virginia over Texas Tech). The presence of all four teams seeded at the top of their bracket probably increased the focus in the Final Four this year resulting in the “audience bump” on Monday night.
Moving on … Today looks like it will be a tale of two quarterbacks. The first one is Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders traded a draft pick to acquire Smith from the Seahawks last month and the team has now given him an extension on his contract. Reports say that the extension will keep Smith under contract with the Raiders through the 2027 season for $85.5M and $65M of that total is guaranteed money. Personally, I think that is a lot of money devoted to a 35-year-old QB who is not a “Top Ten Guy” at the position. So, why the extension and the expense?
- The Raiders have a new coach – – Pete Carroll – – who is 72 years old. I suspect that he is not remotely interested in a “five-year plan” or a “tear-down and rebuild” modus operandi. Smith may not be an All-Pro QB, but Carroll knows what he can and cannot do from the time they were together in Seattle. I think there is a comfort-factor at work here.
- Also, it is not as if the Raiders have budding talent at the position on the roster. There are two QBs on the roster this morning in addition to Geno Smith. Aiden O’Connell is presumably the #2 guy given that he has started a bunch of games for the team over the last two seasons. Yes, he has some experience; no, he has not had unbridled success. The other QB on the roster is Carter Bradley who never saw the field in his rookie season out of South Alabama.
- The Raiders have the sixth pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. This is projected to be a “lean year” for QBs coming out of college. Even if Pete Carroll were interested in developing a young QB – – which I doubt is the case – – this is not the sort of QB crop that might excite him sitting at #6 in the Draft.
The Raiders are coming off a 2024 season with a record of 4-13-0. That team had several roster holes and QB was among them. Geno Smith may not be a great QB, but he is a competent starting QB which means that Raiders can devote attention to other roster deficiencies in the Draft and in considering other free agents.
The other quarterback today is Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson. Last week, the Browns’ owner, Jimmy Haslam said in an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the team “took a big swing and miss with Deshaun”. In case you do not remember, here is what the Browns traded away to the Texans to acquire Watson:
- 2022 Draft: A first-round pick and a fourth-round pick
- 2023 Draft: A first-round pick and a third-round pick
- 2024 Draft: A first-round pick and a fourth-round pick
On top of that steep price, the Browns then gave Watson a 5-year contract worth $230M and they fully guaranteed the deal. The average annual salary of $46M was high at the time and the idea of fully guaranteeing the deal was considered to be outrageous by other owners. Oh, there was one other detail overhanging the whole transaction; Watson had been accused of sexual harassment/misconduct by a couple of dozen women and he faced discipline by the NFL that could have involved a year’s suspension.
So, that was the big swing. To understand the “miss” you have to see what the Browns got for their trouble.
- Watson was suspended for 11 games in his first season with the Browns by the NFL the misconduct.
- For the Browns, Watson has started 19 games in 3 seasons; he has had serious injuries in the last two seasons. In those 19 games with Watson at QB, the team has a record of 9-10-0.
- At the moment, Watson is suffering from a major injury. In a game last October, he tore his Achilles tendon. In working to rehab that injury he suffered another team of the tendon in January 2025 and underwent another surgery then. Given the typical recovery time from that sort of surgery, Watson is doubtful for most if not all of the 2025 season.
Watson’s contract runs through the end of the 2026 season and the Browns owe him a little over $50M over the next two seasons – – fully guaranteed, remember. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2026 season; but absent a visitation by his Fairy Godmother, he should not expect any contract offers then that bear any resemblance to his current deal.
The Browns “took a big swing and a miss”; the Raiders did not take nearly such a big swing, but if they miss as badly as did the Browns, it could be a serious situation out there in the desert …
Finally, there is a line in Michael Lewis’ book, The Blind Side that seems pertinent here:
“When a star running back or wide receiver is injured, the coaches worry about their game plans. When a star quarterback gets hurt, the coaches worry about their jobs.
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………