For years, the Cleveland Browns stood by Deshaun Watson, despite innumerable on- and off-field issues. On Tuesday, roughly three years after acquiring the quarterback via trade and rewarding him with a record $230 million fully guaranteed contract, Browns ownership declared the move “a big swing and a miss.”
Team owner Jimmy Haslam used the phrase at Tuesday’s NFL owners meetings, via Cleveland.com, adding that fans and media can hold “me and Dee accountable,” a reference to his wife and co-owner.
“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” Haslam said. “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.”
The declaration marks a stark contrast to the team’s previous public sentiment regarding Watson, who had long drawn consistent support from organizational leadership.
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The Browns infamously traded three first-round draft picks to acquire Watson from the Houston Texans in 2022, even as the quarterback faced dozens of civil lawsuits alleging serial sexual misconduct, then instantly gave him more guaranteed money than any player in the history of the NFL up to that point. Watson proceeded to play in just 19 total games from 2022-2024, missing 11 games in his debut season due to suspension, then an additional 21 games from 2023-2024 due to multiple injuries.
Haslam attributed the “swing and a miss” to Watson’s medical ailments on Tuesday, alluding to the quarterback suffering a torn Achilles in 2024, then re-tearing the tendon during recovery. In truth, Watson was one of the NFL’s least effective quarterbacks even when he was on the field for Cleveland, completing just 61% of his passes, with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, in a combined 9-10 stretch as the No. 1.
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Accordingly, the Browns acquired Kenny Pickett via trade from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, and all indications are Cleveland is still in the market for quarterback help. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday he believes in Pickett, a former first-round pick of the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, as a potential starter. Haslam himself suggested “it would be great if we could get” a top quarterback prospect early in the 2025 NFL Draft, in which the Browns hold the No. 2 overall pick, “but we’re not going to force it.”
As for Watson’s technical future, the Browns can’t release the quarterback under his current contract, at least without incurring a substantial hit to their salary cap, until after the 2025 season. Even then, they’d be on the hook for tens of millions still owed to the maligned former Texans standout.
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