Are the Cleveland Browns now vindicated for acquiring Deshaun Watson?

After months of speculation and “sources,” the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson got the verdict on a suspension, but are they now vindicated?

The answer to this question will be solely based on who you ask. The Cleveland Browns went out and made a blockbuster move in acquiring quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans earlier this offseason, despite off-the-field legal issues.

On Monday morning, former federal judge Sue L. Robinson announced that Watson did in fact violate the NFL’s personal conduct policy and handed out a six-game suspension. Robinson was jointly appointed as an independent arbitrator for this case by the NFL and NFLPA.

Now, the NFL has until 9 A.M. on Thursday morning to decide if it will appeal Robinson’s ruling, so the coast isn’t clear just yet. For the time being, I will discuss the matter at hand only based on what we found out on Monday morning.

Are Cleveland Browns vindicated following Deshaun Watson news?

We finally made it to the end of the “per sources” saga lambasted all over the bird app. Just for the record, I don’t have sources, so until I one day do (if I’m lucky enough to make it that far), you will never see me say on Twitter “per sources.”

So back to the question; are the Browns now vindicated in their acquisition of Watson? Again, there are two answers, depending on who you ask.

Let’s begin with those that were totally against the move for Watson from the beginning due to the crimes he was accused of. Those people will say that the Browns are not vindicated as they went out and acquired a player with so much legal baggage. Some have said on the app with feathers that it is a slap in the face to all of the women who came forward with civil lawsuits against Watson.

Now, we turn to the crowd who didn’t have a problem with the trade general manager Andrew Berry decided to make. From purely a football standpoint, this crowd will say the Browns are in fact vindicated as he will only miss six games, barring an appeal from the NFL.

That means Watson will be eligible to play in 11 games and with a favorable first month of the season, Cleveland fans are licking their chops as they finally have a franchise quarterback. Jacoby Brissett will take the reigns of the offense in Watson’s absence, and all he needs to do is help get the team to 3-3 or better.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski and former quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t get along and the divorce was a messy, drawn-out cluster. Stefanski and the Cleveland front office had their minds made up at some point during last season to move on from Mayfield and start fresh with someone else under center.

They looked into acquiring Russell Wilson from the Seahawks, but according to Ben Allbright, Wilson didn’t want to come to Cleveland and ultimately chose the Broncos. So the Browns went the Watson route, despite the PR nightmare they would indeed endure.

When the Browns decided to trade for Watson and then subsequently gave him a $230-million dollar, fully-guaranteed contract, the Browns became public enemy No. 1. Cleveland is now the villain of the NFL, again, depending on who you ask, of course.

No matter which side of the fence you are on in regards to Watson being the quarterback of the Browns and then getting a six-game suspension, you are 1,000 percent allowed to feel however it is that you feel.

There really is no true answer on whether or not the team is now vindicated after finally learning the length of the much-anticipated question of how many games will he miss.