Browns owner admits team are in a hole after ‘big swing and miss’ on Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam has admitted his team’s controversial decision to acquire Deshaun Watson has been a “big swing and miss”.

In 2022, the Browns sent a package that included three first-round picks to the Houston Texans in exchange for the quarterback, who had been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women. The Browns then rewarded Watson, at the time one of the best quarterbacks in the league, with a $230m fully guaranteed contract. Watson never faced criminal charges over the sexual assault allegations but the NFL suspended him for 11 games of the 2022 season after its own investigation.

Cleveland’s faith in Watson has not been rewarded. He is yet to complete a full season with the Browns due to injury and suspension and has consistently been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league in QBR. He has thrown 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his three seasons with the Browns (Fifteen quarterbacks threw more than 19 touchdowns in the 2024 NFL season alone). They have played just one playoff game since his arrival, which they lost, despite boasting one of the best defenses in the league. Watson missed that game through injury.

On Monday, Haslam acknowledged the Browns’ decision has so far been a bust.

“We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun,” Haslam said at the league’s annual meeting. “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.”

The chances of Watson turning around his Browns career appear to be slim. He is expected to miss a significant part of the 2025 season after tearing – and then re-tearing – his achilles, an injury that ended his campaign in 2024.

The 29-year-old still has two years left on his contract, and the Browns owe him $46m in each of those seasons. There has been speculation the Browns will select a quarterback with the No 2 overall pick in this month’s draft, a position they earned after going 3-14 last season. However Haslam said on Monday the team would not rush into a decision.

“It would be great if we could get ‘the quarterback,’ but we’re not going to force it,” Haslam said. “We’re going to be patient and we’re going to try to accumulate as many really good football players as we can.”