Horrible Deshaun Watson contract has a ripple effect on Steelers, AFC North

Last offseason, the Cleveland Browns did something that many did not expect: they sold their future in an attempt to land a franchise quarterback. Watching them struggle at the quarterback position for decades, it's hard for Pittsburgh Steelers fans or any other AFC North rival to blame them for making real change. However, the decision looks more questionable now than ever.

Prior to being traded to Cleveland, Deshaun Watson was already dealing with some serious sexual assault allegations. But the Browns didn't just gamble in his character. In addition to rolling the dice on Watson, Cleveland gave up an arm and a leg to land him as they shipped a king's ransom to Houston that included three first-round picks.

If the first two factors of questionable character and a costly trade package weren't enough, the Browns had to turn around and make Watson one of the richest players in NFL history. While his average annual earnings come in just a few million below Aaron Rodgers, Cleveland did something that other teams wouldn't dream to do: they made Watson's contract ($230 million) one hundred percent fully guaranteed, per Over the Cap.

As you can imagine, this has caused quite a stir in the quarterback market, and Watson's deal is having a substantial ripple effect on the AFC North.

Watson's contract affects both Lamar Jackson and the Steelers

After seeing Deshaun Watson -- a player with a troubled past and sexual assault allegations -- put pen to paper for the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history, Lamar Jackson knew what his market would be... or so he thought.

Without an agent, Jackson gambled on himself and turned down a significant contract offer from the Ravens earlier. Now during the 2023 offseason, a potentially irreplaceable fallout has occurred. Seeing what Watson went for and knowing his worth, Jackson -- a former NFL MVP -- became visibly disgruntled.

Though the Ravens slapped the franchise tag on him when he failed to sign his new deal, Jackson has already taken the liberty of thanking the fans and waving goodbye to the city of Baltimore in a recent tweet.

When asked repeatedly about Lamar Jackson at the NFL owners' meeting, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh insisted that everything was alright and that Lamar would be Baltimore's quarterback this year. However, it's very clear that these two parties are not seeing eye to eye.

This not only has a ripple effect on the AFC North but on the Pittsburgh Steelers as well. Just last year, the team opted for Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft, and many wondered how he would be able to rise up to the challenge and go toe-to-toe against daunting divisional signal-callers. Maybe the answer is: he might not have to.

Even if Jackson goes back on his word and sticks out one more year in Baltimore, he's not going to be with the Ravens long-term. This means that the former MVP (who helped his team break multiple NFL rushing records) can take his 45-16 career record somewhere else.

Meanwhile, Watson didn't play great late down the stretch of the 2022 season. At $46 million per year and with no way out of his contract, he needs to play like a top-tier QB in order to be worth the money Cleveland is paying him.

All of this means that the Pittsburgh Steelers could take a step up in the pecking order. While Joe Burrow is still going to be a bear to get past in the AFC North, the Steelers seem to be trending up while half of the division is moving in the wrong direction.

Lamar Jackson could be done with Baltimore soon, and while Harbaugh and the front office shouldn't cut corners when it comes to a franchise quarterback, we could argue that this whole thing stems from the Cleveland Browns doing Cleveland Brown things with a horrible Deshaun Watson deal. Now Steelers fans can just kick back their feet and see how this whole thing unfolds.