Browns Owner Makes Shocking Admission About Deshaun Watson Trade

They say acceptance is the first step towards healing. Maybe for Cleveland Browns fans that healing process can officially begin.

Over three years removed from the Browns pulling off a blockbuster trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson, team owner Jimmy Haslam is accepting that the "big swing" hasn't gone to plan.

Speaking at the NFL owner's meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., Haslam took ownership of the move, in some of the first public comments from anyone inside the organization admitting the move has failed.

“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun," Haslam told a small contingent of media members. "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 ... it was an entire organizational decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable.”

Many Browns fans surely will hold Haslam responsible for the move, particularly since he signed off on handing out a fully-guaranteed, $230 million contract to Watson to push the deal to the finish line back in 2022.

Based on Kevin Stefanski's comments about the Browns private workouts with the soon to be rookie quarterbacks, it sounds like their QB board is centered around 4 notable names: https://t.co/IudkIXWQh4
— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) March 31, 2025

That trade is handicapping the Browns in a major way three years later. Not only because of the significant draft capital sacrificed in the move but also because while Watson recovers from a re-ruptured Achilles that is likely to keep him sidelined for most of 2025, $170 million of Watson's contract has yet to be accounted for on the salary cap.

It's a financial situation that has restricted what the Browns can do to improve the team this offseason and potentially for several more years to come.

That's why Jimmy and Dee Haslam collectively are trying to show some patience when it comes to getting the team back on track. It's an approach that could impact what Cleveland does with the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

"I think the message is if the right person’s there, we’re going to take him,‘’ Haslam said. “If not, we’ll figure it out for a year or two until we get the right person. And I just keep saying, we need good football players. There’s good football players in this draft and we got to make sure we get the right ones for us.”

The Watson situation has made quarterback the Browns most obvious need and one that could change the fortunes of the franchise in a hurry if they get it right. As the Haslam's communicated though, they won't be forcing the issue when it comes to simply taking a signal caller second overall.

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