Cleveland Browns ready to move on from Deshaun Watson, admit big mistake

Three years ago, during the 2022 NFL offseason, the Cleveland Browns thought they pulled off a franchise-changing blockbuster trade for Deshaun Watson that would change their fortunes for several seasons.

In many ways, the Browns were right. They did execute a significant trade that would impact their outlook. Only, nothing good came of the Watson trade.

The Browns were instantly criticized, with even some longtime fans saying they were done with the franchise forever after bringing in a controversial player with a checkered past. It wasn’t just the fans though. Even team owners were upset at the Browns for issuing Watson the largest fully-guaranteed contract in NFL history, at $230 million.

Keep in mind, this was for a player who hadn’t thrown an NFL pass in over a calendar year. Yet, a lot of rust didn’t prevent the Browns from trading three firsts, two thirds, and two fourth-round selections in exchange for Watson and a sixth-round pick. Looking back, it may have been the worst trade and worst contract in NFL history.

Now, the Browns are finally ready to publicly admit they made a crucial mistake.

Cleveland Browns: We swung and missed on Deshaun Watson

There isn’t a lot going on in the NFL in late-March. Yet, the Cleveland Browns just provided a fascinating storyline thanks to team owner Jimmy Haslam’s comments during a press conference.

Naturally, the Deshaun Watson question came up, with the Browns’ starting quarterback recently re-tearing his Achilles tendon and likely being out for the entire 2025 season after being limited to just seven games in 2024.

Haslam had a blunt answer that likely is music to the ears of Browns fans, even if admitting defeat is hard to stomach.

“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun. We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole. (It) was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable.”
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on Deshaun Watson

Browns fans will like the fact that team ownership is taking responsibility and accepting the blame. Yet, arguably the most interesting part about Haslam’s quote is the fact that he speaks about Watson in the past tense, almost as if he’s no longer on the roster or in the team’s future plans.

It’s notable, considering Watson still has two years left on his contract. For 2025, his cap hit will be $36.9 million. In 2026 that number balloons to a deafening $81.6 million. We can guarantee the Browns won’t have Watson on their roster with a massive burden of $81 million, not for a player who’s never made the Pro Bowl since arriving in Cleveland and has led a 9-10 record.

Another part of this equation… Are the Browns getting prepared to select University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the second overall pick? After all, Kenny Pickett is in line to start at QB for the Browns and that’s not a winning formula.