The Deshaun Watson trade couldn’t have worked out any worse for the Cleveland Browns, as they gave up multiple first-round picks to acquire the quarterback and paid him a fully guaranteed contract after moving on from Baker Mayfield, only to receive nine wins in his 19 starts over three years as their return on investment.
After tearing his Achilles for a second time and putting his 2025 season in doubt, the Browns brought in four new quarterbacks this offseason to compete for his job.
Although Watson is seemingly completely out of the picture in Cleveland, he recently shared a photo of himself throwing a football with a cryptic caption that read, “I’ve been holdin’ up for the longest, with no seat belt on the ride.”
#Browns QB Deshaun Watson throwing on Instagram: pic.twitter.com/wJopzzF9GN
— Brad Stainbrook (@StainbrookNFL) May 19, 2025
The organization has already gone on record in calling the Watson trade a mistake, so his fate is just about sealed, as if it wasn’t already obvious after bringing in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
The Browns also acquired an additional first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is loaded with top-tier QB prospects.
Watson was once considered the brightest young talent in the game, but the Browns haven’t seen any of that in his time with the team.
It’s best that the Browns are moving on, but it’s nice to see Watson back doing on-field work, which is likely ahead of his projected recovery schedule.
It will be interesting to see what happens if he does manage to get healthy and is ready to play at some point in 2025.
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