Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam made a brutal admission about the team’s 2022 trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Haslam admitted that the Browns’ trade for Watson has been a failure that left the organization needing to “dig ourselves out of that hole.” The comments certainly seemed to suggest that Watson has no future with the Browns, even when the quarterback is healthy.
“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,” Haslam said. “So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on the team’s trade for Deshaun Watson: “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. … (the trade) was an entire…
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) March 31, 2025
It is not exactly news that the Watson trade was a massive failure for the Browns. To hear the team’s owner admit it, however, is something. Cleveland gave up six draft picks to get Watson, including three first-rounders, and have gotten 19 starts out of it with a 9-10 record.
While the trade was bad, the big problem from the Browns’ perspective was their decision to give Watson a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. That move has left them with no way out of the deal, significantly limiting their financial flexibility to find a replacement quarterback. They also ditched Baker Mayfield to bring in Watson, and Mayfield has gone on to make the playoffs twice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Watson may not even play in 2025 due to another devastating Achilles tear. As a result, the Browns might be forced to get a bit desperate as they look to fill the starting quarterback role.
