It feels more than likely that we've seen the last of Deshaun Watson at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. The owner, Jimmy Haslam, said the trade for him was a swing and a miss, he's yet to lead the team to any postseason berths or victories, and injuries continue to keep him off the field, anyway.
Couple all of that with the fact that he comes with an enormous amount of baggage - specifically, dozens of claims of sexual assault that led to a suspension and multiple settlements - and Watson has certainly become part the worst trade in NFL history.
That said, it seems like the Browns are ready to move on, and that's a great thing. They should definitely be looking to see what they'll have in whichever rookie quarterback they take in the draft this season, and they should still be surveying their options at bridge quarterback for the coming season. Watson isn't coming back in 2025, and it feels unlikely he'll be considered a starting contender in 2026.
Watson, however, doesn't feel the same. That's been made evident by his now two separate social media posts in seeming response to Haslam's comments.
Watson responds - again - to Haslam's comments on trade for QB
Watson posted another workout video to Instagram where he says:
“Everyone, everyone don’t believe in me, Everyone don’t think I can get back to where I was. But I know, and I believe the work that I put in, that I believe in myself. The peace that I’ve been channelling the last couple of months. I know, I’m gonna be way better than before.”
As a quick refresher, Watson had responded to Haslam pretty immediately after his swing and miss comments as well, posting to Instagram then with a caption that read, "Maybe, if I weren't built for this, I'd let it phase me."
Read more: Browns find a Deshaun Watson replacement, but not in the first round
Look - if you think about it, Watson really could make some sort of comeback after these horrendous seasons with the Browns at quarterback. After all, he was essentially the worst signal caller in the league while he was starting. So, he could technically do better than worst - right?
But in all seriousness, this just feels like him doing a lot of damage control, especially knowing that he could very well become a cut candidate following the 2026 season. That's a long ways away, but he'll only be 32 years old at the start of that season, and he might be worth bringing on for a team as a backup or third-stringer.
He's looking to survive in this league. So, these posts make sense, but they simply come off as out of touch considering there's a reason why Haslam made the comments that he made.