The Cleveland Browns took a major swing by acquiring Deshaun Watson in 2022.
The Browns finalized a trade with the Houston Texans and quickly signed Watson to a $230 million, fully-guaranteed contract.
After playing in just 19 games in the last three years, Watson suffered a torn Achilles that will likely keep him out for the 2025 season. This is a move that significantly impacts the future of the Browns but the team has done its best to rebuild the quarterback room.
In a recent rankings, Bleacher Report named the worst contracts in the NFL heading into the 2025 season. Not only did Watson's top this list, to no one's surprise, but it was mentioned as a possibility to be the worst all-time.
"Barring a massive surprise, Cleveland is set to pay out another $167.1 million for Watson to quietly go away. This isn't just the worst active contract in the NFL—it might be the worst deal in league history."Kristopher Knox, Bleacher Report
Watson is still owed $167.1 million of his contract. In 2026, the cap hit for Watson will be an unfathomable $80.7 million. Cleveland knew that there needed to be changes this offseason and it led to bringing in four new options.
The Browns signed Joe Flacco to a one-year deal and acquired Kenny Pickett in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Cleveland then added both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Browns are hoping that one of the young options works out to get a break financially. Regardless, the Watson deal is one that will go down in NFL history and not for the reason you might want.
Insider reveals which QB Browns are 'trending toward' starting
A recent report named veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Shedeur Sanders as standout performers in the Cleveland Browns' QB competition, edging ahead of first-year pro Dillon Gabriel and 2024 Philadelphia Eagles backup Kenny Pickett at minicamp.
However, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot revealed during the latest edition of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast" that Cleveland is "trending toward" naming Pickett its Week 1 starter regardless of what national media members are saying about the situation.
"That’s not what Browns fans want to hear right now," Cabot acknowledged. "They want to hear that it’s between Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders and those two are going to be the front-runners because Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel aren’t necessarily the sexy names in this quarterback competition."
FanDuel Sportsbook has repeatedly listed Flacco as the betting favorite (+110 odds) to win Cleveland's Week 1 starting job over Pickett (+200), Gabriel (+500) and Sanders (+700). That's understandable considering Flacco is the only one of the four who has experience and has enjoyed success playing in the offense run by Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. Under Stefanski, Flacco helped the 2023 Browns reach the playoffs.
That said, Browns general manager Andrew Berry liked Pickett enough to send backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick to the Eagles for the 27-year-old's services in March. Thus, it's unlikely Berry and Stefanski would drop Pickett down the depth chart before training camp sessions get underway in late July.
The Browns open the upcoming season with games versus the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Dan Labbe of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested Pickett could find himself playing for his job over those four matchups if Cabot is correct.
"Let’s say you go out and Kenny Pickett is just OK, and you’re like 1-3," Labbe said during the podcast. "How do you kind of keep this locker room engaged? How do you keep (pass-rusher) Myles Garrett happy? How do you keep (guard) Joel Bitonio happy? Because these guys are looking over and seeing Joe Flacco sitting there."
Neither Cabot nor Labbe seems to think Sanders has much of a chance to get the nod for Cleveland's Week 1 contest versus Cincinnati. Perhaps getting in some extra work during the Browns' summer break could help Sanders close the supposed gap in the competition before he and others report for training camp.
