CLEVELAND — I have to admit, I don’t always like it when I’m right.
I knew on March 18, 2022, that the Cleveland Browns‘ acquisition of Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans was a mistake.
But I certainly didn’t think it was going to be THIS bad.
With Friday’s news that the Browns’ $230 million quarterback reinjured his Achilles and underwent a second surgery, it seems more likely that ever that Watson has played his last down in Cleveland.
Due to injuries and suspension, Watson played in a grand total of 19 games during his three seasons here. Prior to rupturing his Achilles in Week 7 against Cincinnati, the 29-year-old had not thrown for 200 yards or more in any of his 2024 starts. He was one of the lowest-rated passers in the entire NFL.
Really with the exception of the second half of the Ravens game in 2023, when he completed all 14 passes in leading the Browns to a 33-31 win, Watson has showed virtually no flashes of the form that made him one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks in Houston since he’s been here.
While we certainly wish Watson all the best in his recovery and rehabilitation, it’s important to reflect for a few moments on just how badly this trade hurt the Browns.
Here’s how I started my column on the day the Browns went all-in on Deshaun Watson:
“Yes, the Browns have a franchise quarterback. Yes, Watson is incredibly gifted and can put up video game numbers with this offense.
“That’s what I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around. And I’m not just talking about money.”
Of course there was the tremendous price that came with giving Watson a guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. It was the most guaranteed money ever given to an NFL player.
A player who, let’s remind everyone, sat out the previous season.
If you’re scoring at home, the Browns are still on the hook for two more seasons and $92 million in salary after this year. The salary cap implications are even worse.
There’s also the price in draft currency. In making the deal for Watson with the Houston Texans, the Browns became only the second team in NFL history to trade THREE first-round draft picks in a deal. The Browns also gave up a third-round pick and two fourth-rounders.
As CBS Sports laid out, here’s what Houston did with the assets they draft assets they acquired from the Browns for Watson:
- 2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, starting defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
- Starting wide receiver Tank Dell
- Starting left guard Kenyon Green
- Starting free safety Calen Bullock
- Starting cornerback Kamari Lassiter
- Wide receiver John Metchie III
- Linebacker Christian Harris
- Running back Dameon Pierce
- Linebacker Jamal Hill
- Tight end Cade Stover
Plus, the Texans picked up an extra 2025 second-round pick, via the Vikings, because of the compensation they received from the Browns.
Houston went from 3-13-1 in 2022, to an AFC South Division crown and a wild-card win over the Browns last season, to another division title ahere in 2024. They’re on their way up.
The Browns, dealing with the repercussions of what many are calling the worst trade in NFL history, feel like they are light years away from being a playoff contender again.
Signing Watson to that contract and dealing away those draft picks would have been worth it if the Browns had gotten the player who was a three-time Pro Bowler and 2020 NFL passing yardage leader in Houston.
Clearly, that’s not the case.
But it’s not just the lack of return on the largest investment on a player ever made by an NFL team that’s the problem. It’s the heavy baggage that would fill up an entire 767 jumbo jet.
Watson sat out the entire 2021 season amid frustration with the direction of the Texans and revelations about accusations of sexual misconduct. Since 2021, Watson has faced a total of 27 lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, harassment, or other misconduct. Of those cases, 24 have now been settled and another was dropped by the plaintiff, while two remain pending.
A Texas grand jury in 2022 declined to indict Watson, which prompted a bidding war for his services. He had a no-trade clause, with the Browns included on that list.
However, money buys you friends. The Browns figured out how much money it would take to change Watson’s mind.
Nine days after the grand jury’s decision, the Browns and Texans completed the deal.
Let’s be clear: When the Browns traded for him, Watson had 22 lawsuits against him, so it’s not like anything came out of left field after he joined the team. They knew there were question marks about Watson’s character.
Yet they were so desperate to solve the quarterback dilemma that has plagued this franchise since it returned to the NFL a quarter-century ago that they were willing to look past Watson’s obvious red flags and the fact that he hadn’t played for a season to give him the largest guaranteed contract in pro football history.
Even before the trade, I felt that Watson in a Browns uniform divided fans into two camps: the ones who want to win at all costs against the ones that were disgusted by the allegations made against by roughly two-dozen women.
Now, it seems all Browns fans are just fed up.
All the goodwill the Browns organization had from last year’s miraculous playoff run with Joe Flacco is gone, as the trickle of discontent that I sensed when the season started turned into a waterfall of apathy. Friends of mine that are Cleveland fans were telling me that they’d rather do the chores than watch this team play on Sundays.
Heck, even I chose going to Costco and braving the holiday shopping rush over watching the end of one of the team’s losses in December. The $1.50 hot dog and Pepsi is much more satisfying than seeing a shell of a Browns roster compete.
The Watson trade has been a spectacular failure for the Cleveland Browns. Someone has to be held accountable.
According to Browns GM Andrew Berry during a press conference in October, when it came to the decision to go all-in for Deshaun Watson in 2022, “all of us were on board. Everyone’s on board and obviously with a big commitment in that regard, that’s always going to be the case.”
Here’s what I wrote on the night the Watson trade was completed in 2022:
“Whether this move to get Watson was a product of Jimmy Haslam’s desperation to win now, or not, this trade will ultimately decide the fates of head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry. Remember, Baker Mayfield wasn’t their guy, he belonged to John Dorsey and Hue Jackson.
“The pressure is going to be turned up to volcano heat in Berea. Every move that Stefanski makes with Watson and the offense will be under close scrutiny, while Berry will be tasked with putting the right pieces in place around the franchise quarterback, despite limitations of salary and draft picks.
“This was a move made to go to the Super Bowl, something the Cleveland Browns have never done.
“And if it doesn’t work out, we know what will happen next. Because you can’t fire the owners.”
The funny thing is, by not firing Stefanski or Berry, I think Jimmy Haslam has sent a clear message as to who is at fault here. So he’s giving his guys another chance to dig this franchise out of a pit.
Honestly, I don’t know if the Watson debacle can be blamed on one person. Probably not. Instead, I look at the Watson trade as an institutional failure.
Frankly, the person most responsible for that system would seem to me to be the guy who is also the most mysterious person in the Browns hierarchy: Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta.
While coaches and general managers have come and gone over the last eight years, DePodesta has managed to remain entrenched in the Browns organization while working remotely from California.
No one can put their finger on exactly what the man does with his analytical computations, but everyone understands his significance to the Haslams. DePodesta seems to be the guy who has the last word with Browns ownership before important decisions are made.
There’s no way in the world the Watson deal happens without DePodesta’s sign-off. None.
That said, if the Haslams really are going to give this regime a mulligan for the 3-14 season, they need to make sure to give their staff room to do their jobs.
Because this franchise is going to have a hard enough time getting out from under this colossal failure.
Since 1999, no one has held the position of Browns general manager longer than Andrew Berry. As with Stefanski, Berry can make the argument that no regime has been more successful than his, with the Browns having made two playoff appearances during his five years.
But when you look deeper, you see that Berry and his front office have had a less than stellar record in drafting players.
The Browns have only had two first-round picks in those five years: offensive tackle Jedrick Wills in 2020 and cornerback Greg Newsome in 2021. It’s safe to say both players have been disappointments.
Second-round picks? Safety Grant Delpit in 2020 and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in 2021 have both panned out well. Berry traded out of the second round in 2022 and used his 2023 second-rounder for wide receiver Elijah Moore, who has been underwhelming in his two seasons in Cleveland. The jury is still out on 2024 second round pick Mike Hall Jr., who made his biggest headlines this year for a preseason domestic violence incident that led to a five-game suspension.
As far as later-round picks go, for every M.J. Emerson, Jerome Ford, and Dawand Jones success, there have been Cade York, Anthony Schwartz, and Siaki Ika flops. Maybe you give Berry’s drafting a “C” grade overall if you’re feeling generous. Maybe.
While the trade for Moore looks like a miss, I do credit Berry for some very good deals that brought players like Amari Cooper, Dustin Hopkins, and Za’Darius Smith to Cleveland. The Browns do not make the playoffs last season without their contributions. The trade for Jerry Jeudy also looks like a home run.
I guess my point here is, do you trust Andrew Berry and his staff to make the right picks in an extremely important draft next April? I’m not sure that I do.
But if the Browns are going to turn things around, Berry can’t miss. First and foremost, he and Stefanski need to figure out the quarterback room for next season and beyond. That means finding the right veteran, and perhaps the right rookie as well.
One thing that does give me confidence for next season is the fact that Ken Dorsey will no longer be calling the plays on offense.
Despite the fact that Stefanski’s system clicked with Flacco at the helm when Watson was sidelined last year, the Browns opted to fire offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and bring in Dorsey to try to come up with a system that would be a better fit for their franchise quarterback.
Instead, the Browns’ offense was a sputtering mess for nearly all of 2024, save for one night in Denver when Jameis Winston and Jeudy torched the Broncos.
With Dorsey gone, Stefanski should resume play-calling duties and go back to the wide zone, play action passing that worked well for everyone from Baker Mayfield, to Jacoby Brissett, to Flacco in Cleveland.
The bottom line is that Deshaun Watson’s time in Cleveland is essentially over. It’s just a question of when and how painful the Browns’ salary cap hit will be.
But it’s time for everyone to move forward.
