Knowing Browns owner Jimmy Haslam called the trade a “swing-and-miss”, Deshaun Watson wants to hit a homerun in retrospect. Back in 2022, Cleveland gave up three first-round picks, among other resources, for the quarterback. Since then, he has played in 19 games, going 9-10, and hasn’t played in a year and a half.
Watson tore his Achilles—twice—during the 2024 season after seven games, in which he went 1-6. He missed the entirety of the 2025 season rehabbing, during which time Haslam reflected on the trade. In April of that year, he admitted the team took a “big swing-and-miss with Deshaun”. He added, “We thought we had the quarterback; we didn’t”.
Later that same month, the Browns drafted two quarterbacks: Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Deshaun Watson is now in competition with Sanders to start for the Browns this year, the latter having beaten out Gabriel during the 2025 season. Watson spent that entire year on the PUP List, but insists he is now healthy. In fact, he says he is 100 percent healthy for the first time since his injury in 2023.
Asked about his owner’s comments a year ago, Watson said, “The relationship is great. I mean, Dee and Jimmy, they were at my wedding, we talk all the time. He calls me whenever, you know, things happen and things like that”.
That does check out. Earlier this year, roughly one year after calling Deshaun Watson a swing-and-miss, Haslam said that he has a “great chance” and a “fresh start” this season. It probably didn’t hurt that he realized they still have nothing at quarterback, entering a weak quarterback draft class. And it also didn’t hurt that they still owe him a ton of money this year, on top of everything else. But can the quarterback rewrite the history of this trade, at the tail end of his contract?
“One of my favorite baseball players that I’ve been watching is Bryce Harper”, Watson said. “Sometimes he swings, but he stands back up and he gets another opportunity and he hits a home run. So, you never know when the opportunity might show up and that’s what I have right now”.
It does seem clear that the Browns are giving Deshaun Watson a legitimate chance to compete to start this year. However, that might be as much of an indictment of their personnel decisions as it is a compliment to Watson. Cleveland went through three starting quarterbacks last year alone, and actually traded their best one.
But nothing short of a Super Bowl—maybe multiple Super Bowls—could turn this trade into a homerun. The Browns gave up so much for Deshaun Watson that nothing short of that could make up for it. They fired their two-time Coach of the Year head coach in part due to the aftermath of the failure of that trade. There’s a reason it’s already regarded as one of the first trades in the history of professional sports.
And in case you’re wondering, among the players the Texans drafted with the picks the Browns sent them for Watson are Will Anderson and Tank Dell.
Recommended for you