Browns owner Jimmy Haslam admits Deshaun Watson trade was ‘a big swing and a miss’

The Browns have the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and it’s forced them to be reflective regarding the quarterback position. Cleveland and their owner Jimmy Haslam thought they had it all figured out when they traded for Deshaun Watson and inked him to a five-year, $230 million contract with all of the money guaranteed, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In the time since, Watson has played more like a disappointing, back-up level quarterback than the superstar the Browns thought they were getting. The play on the field has been bad enough to sever ties with him, and that’s without mentioning the off-field legal issues that got him suspended for multiple games, as well.

On Monday, Haslam was candid regarding the team’s quarterback, as it’s evident trading and extending Watson was a gigantic mistake: “We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” the Browns owner proclaimed, via ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi. “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 organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable.”

At least Haslam is recognizing the error of his ways, but that won’t ease the team’s pain over the past few seasons. While Baker Mayfield has found success in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers, the Browns are wondering what could’ve been if they made a couple of different decisions. If it weren’t for a miraculous Joe Flacco season in 2023, who knows what the morale would be in Cleveland.

Regardless, the Browns will need a different quarterback to begin the 2025 season. Watson is still on the roster, but it remains to be seen if he’ll ever get another shot at being the team’s starter after tearing his Achilles last season. Cleveland traded for former first-rounder Kenny Pickett, but he’s not exactly inspiring confidence within the fanbase either.

One player who has been connected to the Browns is veteran Kirk Cousins. The problem? He’s under contract with the Atlanta Falcons, and it seems like they have no intentions of cutting him, at least not at the moment. The Browns can’t afford to trade for him and pay him the money he would be owed, so even though there’s a connection with Kevin Stefanski, that plan is on hold.

The other reset button for the Browns would be drafting Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They likely won’t have their pick between the two, as one of them seems primed to go first overall, but if they want to give their quarterback room a shot in the arm, drafting a young signal-caller brimming with potential is one way to do it.

All told, Deshaun Watson was once one of the more popular and ascending players in the NFL, but his star has turned for the worse since being traded from the Houston Texans to Cleveland. Time will tell what the Browns will do, but Jimmy Haslam is trying to take some accountability, even if it may be too little, too late.