Browns Trade For Deshaun Watson Looks Like An All-Time Worst
Deshaun Watson stinks.
And the Cleveland Browns front office doesn’t smell much better.
In March of 2022 Cleveland mortgaged their future, and some would say their dignity, to land Watson in a trade with Houston. Watson and a 2024 6th-round draft pick were shipped to Cleveland in exchange for three consecutive first-round draft picks, a third-round pick and two fourths.
Cleveland then handed Watson a five-year, $230 million guaranteed contract. At the time, the guaranteed money was the most-ever handed to an NFL player.
18 months later, the trade looks historically bad for the Browns.
Cleveland, whose record of successes mirrors that of the Washington Generals, was banking on Watson to be their franchise savior.
Whoops.
Deshaun Watson looks like anything but a franchise quarterback. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images).
Browns Sought Franchise QB, Watson Hasn't Delivered
The Browns pushed all their chips in on Watson despite the fact that the QB sat out the entire 2021 season because he was displeased with Texans ownership and sought a trade. Cleveland also expected Watson to miss at least a portion of the 2022 season because of sexual assault allegations. And that he did, missing the first 11 games of the ‘22 campaign due to a league suspension.
When Watson finally took the field for Cleveland he looked every bit like a signal caller who had spent the last year and a half counting zeros in his bank account rather than playing football.
You didn’t need Pro Football Focus, Dan Orlovsky or Skip Bayless to tell you as much. The eyeball test would suffice.
In six games, Watson threw for 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He completed just over 58% of his passes, easily the worst mark of his career. His 79.1 quarterback rating was nearly 20 points lower than that of his previous career low rating (98). Cleveland went 3-3 last season with the pricey Deshaun Watson under center.
Savior he was not.
Even some of Watson’s most vocal critics (of his on-field play) allowed for the possibility that the quarterback’s uneven play was due to the inactivity of having spent nearly two full seasons on the sidelines. Cleveland’s front office and coaching staff felt the same way, at least publicly.
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland’s head coach, said as much this spring, telling the team’s website: "Certainly for Deshaun, to have that season under his belt and learn everything that's happened last year and in the past, he'll be a better player for it and I think we'll all be better for everything.”
Think again.
The player who cost the Browns six draft picks and $230 million dollars has actually been worse. Through two games this season, Watson is completing only 55% of his passes. He’s thrown the same amount of touchdowns as he has interceptions (2) and has fumbled three times. One of those fumbles was returned for what ended up being the game-winning score in Monday night's loss to Pittsburgh.
Through two games this fall, Deshaun Watson has three fumbles and two interceptions. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Deshaun Watson Struggles Have Been Consistent Since Trade
Stats aside, his decision making causes more head scratching than lice. He’s frequently held the ball too long, scrambled into oncoming rushers and badly missed open receivers.
On Monday night in Pittsburgh, Watson compounded his run of dismal play in somewhat unique fashion. He was called for two unsportsmanlike penalties for grabbing the opposition’s face mask. He may quite literally be the first QB in NFL history to be flagged for two such infractions in one game.
Deshaun Watson was flagged twice for face masks on Monday night. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Not the type of records Cleveland sought when trading an abundance of assets and money for Watson.
If a Watson type acquisition was made in almost any other line of work, the decision makers would have been fired long ago. In the NFL, missing big on expensive quarterbacks and using plenty of resources to do so, all but guarantees coaches and decision makers a spot on the unemployment line sooner than later.
Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry are among those decision makers for the Browns.
As it currently stands, the pair seems assured of adding their bylines to the book of worst trades in league history, featuring chapters on: Herschel Walker and the Vikings, Indianapolis’ Trent Richardson decision, New Orleans’ Ricky Williams blunder and the San Francisco Trey Lance swing and miss.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski has been unable to win alongside Deshaun Watson. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images).
Unless Watson can regain form - which seems increasingly unlikely - Cleveland seems destined to be remembered as having made an all-time blunder of a trade.
Simply put, there is no deodorizing the stench of Watson’s play.
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