Report suggests revealing Kevin Stefanski stance on Browns' failed trade for Deshaun Watson

Kevin Stefanski’s dismissal as head coach of the Cleveland Browns became an expected development in recent days, especially after the team’s wins in the last two weeks to close out the regular season.

Multiple reports stated that the feeling perceived in and around the club pointed towards the Browns parting ways with the two-time AP Coach of the Year. Of course, Stefanski helped fuel the speculation by stating after Cleveland’s shocking 13-6 victory over eventual AFC North champions Steelers in Week 17 that “My sole focus is on this [Week 18] game against Cincinnati, but I will tell you that I'm privileged to have this job.”

With Stefanski out the door in Cleveland now, another interesting report has surfaced regarding the former head coach and his stance against the infamous Deshaun Watson trade from 2022. CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco is reporting that “From what I was told, he didn't want that trade made.”

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson watches on the sidelines against the Las Vegas Raiders. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Stefanski didn't want Deshaun Watson trade

Of course, we all know how that deal turned out. Cleveland surrendered a fortune in draft capital to the Houston Texans for a then 27-year old passer coming off a year of inactivity, carrying a ton of very serious legal issues, and immediately proceeded to hand him the NFL’s largest totally guaranteed contract ever -- a five-year 230 million dollar burden that’s still weighing down the Browns at the most important position in all of sports.

In return, Cleveland has received from Watson just 19 starts over four years, a 9-10 record, and an $80.7 million cap hit for the 2026 season for a guy who last played professional football in October of 2024 as part of a 1-6 campaign before two consecutive Achilles injuries.

Additionally, Watson’s arrival meant the end of the line for Baker Mayfield, a former first overall draft pick for Cleveland in 2018 who helped lead the Browns and their then brand-new head coach Kevin Stefanski to the playoffs after the 2020 campaign, including a win over the Steelers in the Wild Card round. That season would end with Stefanski being named AP Coach of the Year.

Haslam has stated publicly on multiple occasions that the Watson trade was a miss, and there were hints that the failed deal could end up helping Stefanski keep his job, even after winning just eight games in the past two years combined, after an October interview with The Athletic where the owner stated, “A big trade we made didn’t work out you know, we’re all suffering from that. Kevin, I thought, really did a great job of rallying the troops last week at a critical time.”

Fast forward to the present and Stefanski’s gone while the Browns are still on the hook for an immense cap space amount tied to Watson, while the club is still searching for a definitive answer at the quarterback position.

Maybe Stefanski was opposed to bringing in Watson at a very toxic point in his now seemingly lost career, and maybe he was overruled by Haslam and general manager Andrew Berry, who gets to keep his job despite the team’s woes.

But Stefanski’s mismanagement of the quarterback position in 2025 -- going back all the way to the spring with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett alongside draftees Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders -- where Watson was a non-factor, likely sealed his fate though.

The timing of the report regarding Stefanski’s stance on Watson is what really makes this story interesting, as it could provide a peek into the dysfunctionality of a franchise that can’t seem to get out of its own way at a time when they’re looking for the next coach tasked with developing the ever so elusive “franchise quarterback”.