Former NFL MVP Cam Newton is not a fan of how the Cleveland Browns have handled the situation with Deshaun Watson.
Cleveland made a blockbuster move for Watson in 2022. The Browns sent three first-round picks and other draft capital to the Houston Texans to land Watson. The team also handed the three-time Pro Bowler a $230 million fully guaranteed contract, which has turned out to be a disaster.
Watson has played in just 19 games over three seasons in Cleveland due to a lengthy suspension and injuries. He’s expected to miss most of next season recovering after re-injuring his Achilles while rehabbing.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam admitted for the first time that the trade was a bust, telling reporters earlier this month it was a “swing and a miss.” The statement from Haslam indicated publicly that the team was moving on from Watson despite being unable to part ways with him due to his hefty contract.
“Let’s address the elephant in the room,” Haslam said at the NFL Annual Meeting in Florida. “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.”
