Cleveland Browns' owner, Jimmy Haslam, finally admitted that the Deshaun Watson trade was a mistake. Speaking at the NFL's annual spring meetings, Haslam owned up to what many Browns fans knew for quite some time: The Browns "took a big swing and a miss with 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 organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable.”
To say Watson's tenure with the Browns has been a disaster would be a severe understatement. He missed the first 11 games of the 2022 season due to a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy stemming from widely known sexual assault allegations from his time in Houston.
When he was on the field, he suffered multiple injuries and was never the same. But the Browns learned that he re-ruptured his Achilles, the same injury he suffered in Week 7. Watson is expected to miss the 2025 season, and this latest injury puts his NFL future very much in doubt after only playing 19 games in his three years with Cleveland.
Jimmy Haslam finally admits Deshaun Watson mistake while being tied to Kirk Cousins
The words coming straight from Haslam's mouth will certainly not make Browns fans feel any better about the current state of the franchise. After all, Haslam was the driving force behind the Watson trade when they acquired him from the Houston Texans in a blockbuster deal that included three first-round draft picks and a fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
He may not have learned from his past errors quite in the way Browns fans woul like, however.
There are rumors that the Browns are interested in Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who could be available. After signing a big free agent contract (four years, $180 million) last offseason, he was replaced by the rookie Michael Penix Jr. late last season. Cousins also suffered a torn Achilles in 2023 and admitted he was not fully healed. Can the Browns afford to take a chance on another quarterback coming off an injury and sporting a bloated contract?
Haslam admitting his mistakes and taking accountability for his role in acquiring Watson is a rare moment of accountability in professional sports. But as the Browns are tied to Cousins and also enter the NFL Draft, he will be put to the test when Colorado's Shedeur Sanders will be available second overall after Tennessee takes Cam Ward first overall. Do they see Sanders as a franchise quarterback or get a veteran bridge quarterback while drafting someone like Jalen Milroe in the second round?
Whatever their decision is at quarterback, Haslam effectively slammed the door on the Deshaun Watson era. As for who starts next season, that decision must come from head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry, not Haslam.