CLEVELAND, Ohio — On Monday at the NFL’s Annual Meeting in West Palm Beach, Florida, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam basically closed the book on the failure that has been the Deshaun Watson trade.
“Let’s address the elephant in the room,” Haslam told reporters, including cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. “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 Browns gave up a huge package in 2022, including first-round NFL draft picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to acquire Watson, and signed him to a five-year deal worth a fully guaranteed $230 million.
The fully guaranteed contract came after Watson, who had also been pursued by the Falcons, Saints and Panthers at the time, initially turned down the Browns.
But the guaranteed contract offer led Watson to approve a trade to the Browns.
Watson, who had been accused by 26 massage therapists of sexual misconduct, did not play the entire 2021 season in Houston. At first he asked to be traded, and then the sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, causing the Texans to leave him sidelined. After joining the Browns, he was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season.
He has never played more than seven games in any season for the Browns. He has thrown 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in 19 total games.
He twice suffered season-ending injuries: a shoulder in 2023 and a ruptured Achilles in 2024. He then re-ruptured his Achilles this January, and his 2025 season is in doubt.
In short, the Watson trade has been nothing short of an abject failure for the Browns, who once again are looking for their franchise quarterback.
It’s clearly one of the worst trades in NFL history, but is it the worst?
Here is a list of what could be considered the 10 worst trades in modern NFL history. For this exercise, we’re considering the modern era as beginning in 1980:
Bryce Young, Panthers, Bears
The Panthers traded a haul for Bryce Young in 2023, and despite him playing well at the end of 2024, they still gave up the first overall pick in 2024 to the Bears in the deal.AP
10. Carolina Panthers trade up for Bryce Young in 2023
What the Panthers got: No. 1 pick in 2023 (quarterback Bryce Young)
What the Bears got: Wide receiver DJ Moore, two first-round picks, including No. 1 overall in 2024 (quarterback Caleb Williams), two second-round picks
The Carolina Panthers got desperate for a quarterback in 2023 and traded up from the ninth pick to first overall to get the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner in Young.
However, Young really struggled as a rookie and the Panthers finished the 2023 season with the NFL’s worst record at 2-15. That meant they again had the first pick in the draft, but they dealt it to the Bears.
The Bears used it on the highly touted Williams.
While Williams had a solid rookie season with 20 touchdown passes to six interceptions, he did not enjoy the same kind of success that Jayden Daniels of the Commanders and Bo Nix of the Broncos did this season as they led their respective teams to the playoffs as rookies.
The Bears also got two other starters in offensive tackle Darnell Wright and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and they still have a high second-round pick this April.
So this trade is not over yet, and the play of the two quarterbacks will tell the story of the trade.
But the good news for the Panthers is this trade is no longer looking like as much of a disaster as it did after Young’s rookie season. After being benched two games into the 2024 season. Young regained his job in Week 8 and played much better when he returned.
Young threw 15 touchdowns to six interceptions in Carolina’s final 10 games, leading the Panthers to a 4-6 record in those games.
Brett Favre, Falcons, Packers
The Packers acquired Brett Favre from the Falcons in 1992, and he won them a Super Bowl just four years later.AP
9. Brett Favre to the Packers in 1992
What the Packers got: Quarterback Brett Favre
What the Falcons got: 1992 first-round pick
The Falcons drafted Favre out of Southern Mississippi in 1991. But after throwing just four passes as a rookie, two of which were interceptions, the Falcons shipped Favre to the Packers the following year for a first-round pick.
All Favre did after the trade was win a Super Bowl, three MVPs, 11 Pro Bowls and a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The deal also started Green Bay’s great run of quarterbacks from Favre to Aaron Rodgers and then to Jordan Love.
Atlanta traded down with the pick it got from Green Bay, originally 17th, and selected running back Tony Smith 19th overall in 1992. Smith had 329 yards rushing and two touchdowns in 33 NFL games.
Marshall Faulk, Rams, Colts
The Rams traded for running back Marshall Faulk in 1999 and won a Super Bowl with Faulk just months later.AP
8. Marshall Faulk to the Rams in 1999
What the Rams got: Running back Marshall Faulk
What the Colts got: A 1999 second- and fifth-round pick
In hindsight, a Peyton Manning-Marshall Faulk partnership now sounds amazing. Faulk was a promising young star running back for the Colts with two Pro Bowl appearances in his first five seasons in Indianapolis. Manning, the first pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, was considered one of the top quarterback prospects in recent memory.
But after just one season together in Indianapolis, the Colts shipped Faulk to the Rams.
Partnered with unlikely breakout superstar Kurt Warner, Faulk became part of The Greatest Show on Turf in 1999, helping the Rams win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
Faulk was the MVP in 2000, a three-time All-Pro and three-time Offensive Player of the Year — all in St. Louis. He had three consecutive seasons of at least 1,300 yards rushing and 750 yards receiving for the Rams.
The Colts drafted their own future Hall of Fame running back in Edgerrin James fourth overall in 1999. Unfortunately for James, Manning didn’t get his Super Bowl in Indianapolis until 2006, and James left the previous offseason and signed with the Cardinals.
Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson carries the football during an NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs
Despite being drafted third overall in 2012, Trent Richardson only played 17 games for the Browns before being traded to the Colts early in the 2013 season.(AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
7. Colts trade first-round pick for Trent Richardson in 2013
What the Colts got: Running back Trent Richardson
What the Browns got: 2014 first-round pick
Just more than a year after the Browns drafted Richardson third overall, they shipped him to Indianapolis to share a backfield with young star quarterback Andrew Luck.
Richardson rushed for 11 touchdowns as a rookie but only nine in the next two seasons combined. He had just six total in Indianapolis, rushing for only 977 yards in 29 games.
The Colts waived Richardson in March 2015, and he has not played in the NFL since.
The Browns got a prime asset back for Richardson, but they traded up with that pick to select quarterback Johnny Manziel, who only lasted two seasons in the NFL.
6. Saints trade entire draft for Ricky Williams in 1999
What the Saints got: Running back Ricky Williams
What Washington got: Every Saints pick in 1999, including 12th overall, and a first-round pick (2nd overall) and third-round pick in 2000
When you think of draft day shockers, this trade ranks near the top of the list.
Williams was considered one of the best collegiate running backs of all time. That made it more shocking that the Colts drafted Edgerrin James ahead of him.
Even more shocking was what came next when head coach Mike Ditka and the Saints sent their entire 1999 draft to Washington along with two more picks in 2000, including a first-round pick, to move up seven spots and take Williams fifth overall.
He played just three seasons in New Orleans before being traded to Miami in 2002 and realizing his great potential, running for a league-high 1,853 yards in 2002 and earning his only Pro Bowl selection.
Ditka was fired after the Saints went 3-13 in 1999.
Washington got some great players thanks to the haul, including future Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey and two Pro Bowlers in linebacker LaVar Arrington and offensive tackle Chris Samuels. But Washington didn’t have much team success despite those additions.
Steve Young, Buccaneers, 49ers
Steve Young became a Hall of Famer and a Super Bowl champion after being traded from the Buccaneers to the 49ers in 1987.AP
5. Steve Young to the 49ers in 1987
What the 49ers got: Quarterback Steve Young
What the Buccaneers got: A second- and fourth-round pick in 1987
The Buccaneers made Young the first pick in the 1984 supplemental draft (which was created in the 1970s for players unable to enter the regular draft on time). He opted for the United States Football League, but after 25 games there, and mediocre play for the Buccaneers in 1985 and 1986, they sent Young to San Francisco, in part because they took quarterback Vinny Testaverde with the first pick in the 1987 draft.
Young got to back up Joe Montana and learn from one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.
He became the ideal successor to Montana, winning two MVPs and a Super Bowl in 1994. He also made seven consecutive Pro Bowls on his way to being a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
The Buccaneers, meanwhile, had to wait 10 more years after the trade to even get to the playoffs. Their first Super Bowl came in 2002.
Testaverde lasted six unspectacular seasons in Tampa Bay before bouncing around the NFL, including stints in Cleveland, Baltimore and the New York Jets.
Russell Wilson, Broncos trade
Russell Wilson lasted just two seasons in Denver after being traded from the Seattle Seahawks in 2022.AP
4. Russell Wilson to the Broncos in 2022
What the Broncos got: Quarterback Russell Wilson, a 2022 fourth-round pick
What the Seahawks got: Quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive tackle Shelby Harris, two first- and second-round picks, a fifth-round pick
The Deshaun Watson trade wasn’t the only big one involving a quarterback in the 2022 offseason. The Broncos got desperate looking for a quarterback and made a blockbuster move to get a former Super Bowl champion in Wilson.
The price was steep, and it only got more lopsided after Wilson and the Broncos had a dreadful 2022 season.
That gave the Seahawks the fifth pick in 2023, a year after getting the ninth pick. Those two picks became quality starters in offensive tackle Charles Cross and Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Seattle also got Boye Mafe, who is sixth in his draft class in sacks (18) and Derick Hall with their second-round picks.
But just as painfully for the Broncos, they willingly ate $85 million in dead cap to release Wilson after the 2023 season.
The only bright spot for Denver is that landing quarterback Bo Nix in the 2024 draft has helped soften the blow of this trade from its perspective.
3. Bills trade pick that became Patrick Mahomes to the Chiefs in 2017
What the Chiefs got: No. 10 pick in 2017 (quarterback Patrick Mahomes)
What the Bills got: No. 27 pick in 2017, a 2017 third-round pick and a 2018 first-round pick
The start of one of the best dynasties in modern NFL history came from a very high-risk move from the Chiefs. Kansas City gave up its first pick in 2018 to move up and select Mahomes, who was a very polarizing prospect out of Texas Tech at the time.
After sitting all but one game of his rookie season, Mahomes has become the most dominant quarterback since Tom Brady, winning three Super Bowls, two additional AFC titles and two MVPs before even turning 30.
Things have worked out well for the Bills, who drafted their own MVP quarterback in Josh Allen a year later. Buffalo used the two first-round picks to select Pro Bowlers in cornerback Tre’Davius White and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
But Mahomes has haunted the Bills throughout his career, particularly in the playoffs. The Chiefs are 4-0 vs. the Bills in the playoffs since Mahomes was drafted.
As good as Allen has been, allowing another team to draft the best quarterback of the last eight seasons can’t be considered anything but a bad trade for the Bills.
Browns battle the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson before their game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
2. Deshaun Watson to the Browns in 2022
What the Browns got: Watson (signed to five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract), a 2024 sixth-round pick
What the Texans got: Three first-round picks, a third- and two fourth-round picks
While plenty of people will call this the worst trade of all time, it’s unquestionably the worst contract of all time. Watson’s fully guaranteed contract has the Browns in a salary cap bind in 2025 to the point where despite Haslam’s comments, Watson will be on the team this season.
The Browns can move on from him and save money by cutting him after June 1. But the damage of not having first-round picks the last three years can be seen from them having the second pick in this year’s draft.
As for the Texans, they didn’t draft quarterback C.J. Stroud with a Browns pick from the Watson trade. But they used those picks to draft players like wide receiver Tank Dell, and in part of a package to get defensive end Will Anderson Jr. Houston has won two playoff games since the trade, including one vs. the Browns, and clearly has won the trade.
The question for the Browns will be how soon they can dig themselves out of the hole of their “big swing and a miss.”
1. Vikings get Herschel Walker from the Cowboys in 1989
What the Cowboys got: Three first-round picks, three second-round picks, a third- and sixth-round pick and five players
What the Vikings got: Running back Herschel Walker, two third-round picks and a 10th-round pick
I’ll admit this was a tough call to put the Watson trade as only the second worst in NFL history. But in the end, it came down to one point for me.
Did the Houston Texans win a Super Bowl?
Until they do, in this era of ring culture, I can’t in good conscience call anything but the Herschel Walker trade the worst in NFL history.
While the Cowboys started to get the pieces of their 1990s dynasty together in 1989 when they selected Troy Aikman first overall, the Walker trade sped up Dallas’ timeline in a hurry.
The trade was not only the largest in NFL history based on players involved, but no trade shifted an NFL landscape more than this one. The Cowboys were 1-15 in 1989 but used the picks from the Vikings along with a slew of trades and built a team that won three Super Bowls in four seasons.
Among the players they got with the picks from the Vikings included Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland and Darren Woodson.
There is no question how much the Watson trade has hurt the Cleveland Browns heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. It’s clearly one of the worst trades in modern history.
But because of what the Walker trade did to turn the 1990s Cowboys into one of the greatest dynasties in the NFL, and because the Texans have yet to break through for a Super Bowl win since the Watson trade, the Walker deal still remains No. 1 on this list.