Jimmy Haslam and Deshaun Watson chat before a game in 2023. Photo: Nick Cammett/Getty Images
"We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun. 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."
— Browns owner Jimmy Haslam during Monday's annual league meetings in Florida, per Cleveland.com.
Flashback: The Browns traded first-round draft picks in 2022, 2023, and 2024, plus a 2022 fourth-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Houston Texans in 2022.
Cleveland got Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick.
State of play: Watson has performed poorly while playing in just 19 games in three seasons due to an 11-game suspension for sexual misconduct allegations and multiple injuries.
Watson's status for the upcoming season is in jeopardy after he ruptured his Achilles for the second time in three months this past January.
Between the lines: On Monday, Haslam added that trading for Watson was an "entire organization decision" but that the buck stops with ownership.
What's next: Watson is under contract for two more seasons.
He's one of only two quarterbacks on the roster alongside Kenny Pickett, whom Cleveland traded for last month.
💠Our thought bubble: Haslam's public admission may be overdue, but it makes the idea of Watson playing for the Browns again highly unlikely, if that wasn't already a foregone conclusion.
