After making the playoffs at the end of the 2023 regular season, the Cleveland Browns once again had a losing record this past season. The NFL recently held their annual league meetings, and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam spoke a bit on his team’s 3-14 record, and what he thinks the problem is with the franchise. “We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun (Watson),” Haslam told reporters. “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.” And now? ESPN is suggesting ominously that Watson may have “played his last down in the NFL.” Cleveland traded 2022 first and fourth-round selections, 2023 first and third-round selections, and 2024 first and fourth-round selections to the Houston Texans in order to get Watson. A few of the players that the Texans drafted with those picks were Will Anderson Jr. and Tank Dell, one of which was Defensive Rookie of the Year, and both of which are vital to the team’s future.
Aside from all of the drama off the field for Watson, he has been far from consistent on it. He has only played in 19 games in three seasons with the Browns due to multiple injuries. And when he has been on the field, he has led them to a disappointing 9-10 record.
While it’s easy to take a look back at Watson’s stats early in his career and believe in him going forward, it might be time for the Browns to stop the Deshaun Watson experiment.