Browns co-owner says Deshaun Watson trade was a 'big swing-and-miss'

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By the standard of recent years, former Clemson standout quarterback Deshaun Watson's offseason has been tame, if not still eventful.

Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam kicked that back up at this week's NFL annual meetings.

Watson was acquired by Cleveland with its first-round NFL draft picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024 sent to Houston ahead of signing him to a fully guaranteed $230 million deal. Post-NFL suspension, Watson hasn't regained his previous form, tossing just 19 touchdowns in 19 games and suffering season-ending injuries in 2023 and 2024.

"We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun," Haslam told reporters this week. "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 [Haslam] and I, so hold us accountable."

Watson purportedly responded on Instagram afterward via some rap music lyrics: "maybe, if I weren’t built for this, I’d let it phase me .."

Watson suffered a second Achilles' tendon tear in a matter of months and had surgery in January, with the Browns not expecting him back anytime soon for the 2025 season.

Before franchise defender Myles Garrett re-signed in Cleveland, Watson drew the ire of some angry fans with his jersey burned outside the facility. His agent said in January that Watson had received at least one death threat the previous year.

Watson did announce an engagement with his longtime girlfriend Jilly Anais, a Houston native who had stayed with Watson through a slew of sexual misconduct lawsuits for the three-time Pro Bowl pick with the Texans.

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