In 2022, the Cleveland Browns made a major move.
They traded away three first-rounders and a few lower-round picks to the Houston Texans. In exchange, the Texans gave them embattled star quarterback Deshaun Watson. Cleveland fully guaranteed a five-year, 230 million dollar deal for Watson, a move sent shockwaves through the league. Not only had it never been done before, but it has also not been done since. Even 2-time MVP Lamar Jackson was “balked” when Watson requested it.
The Texans
For the Texans, the Browns’ picks ended up becoming studs. Tank Dell, Dameon Pierce, Will Anderson Jr, and Jamal Hill all came as a result of this trade. With the addition of CJ Stroud, the Texans took their team from a perennial basement-dweller to a Super Bowl favorite.
The Browns
On the other side of things, Deshaun Watson has been bad. It’s really hard to encapsulate just how bad he’s been. Just last season, the Browns, with the essentially the exact same roster, made the playoffs with Joe Flacco at quarterback. They now sit at 1-5, last place in the AFC North. This disaster season was punctuated by a horrible loss to the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday. The Eagles were basically trying to give the game away, and Watson still couldn’t deliver.
More than that, this is tied for the longest uninterrupted stretch that Watson has played for the Browns since he signed his deal. Injuries, real or otherwise, have interrupted the quarterback’s tenure in Cleveland. However, his time spent on the field has been far from stellar. Watson has an 11-9 record with the Browns through three seasons. His average QBR this season is 23.35, good for 31st in the NFL.
The Man In Tampa
The worst part of this whole trade, though, has nothing much to do with the trade at all. The Browns have a playoff team outside of their QB. They also had a playoff-tested quarterback in 2022, but they let him walk after a difficult season in which he dealt with a devastating shoulder injury. That quarterback, of course, is Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers are rolling. They just dropped 51 points on the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. Baker, specifically, has thrown the most passing TDs in the NFL and is top 10 in total passing yards for the season.
So, looking back, the 2022 Browns trade for Deshaun Watson is shaping up to be one of the most lopsided deals in NFL history. As the Texans thrive and the Buccaneers soar, the Browns are left to pick up the pieces with no clear end in sight.
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