It only took three years but Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam finally seems to have figured out that trading for Deshaun Watson was a bad move. Earlier in the week, Haslam called the trade "a big swing and miss" and took the blame for the move (as if he wasn't going to receive the blame anyway).
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Well, Watson has fired back. The former first-round pick by the Houston Texans in 2017 shared a picture of him working out on Instagram with the caption "Maybe, if I weren't built for this, I'd let it phase me."
That officially makes this whole thing even more awkward, not that Browns fans will really care how Watson feels about the situation. It's not like Haslam was lying with his comments, as the trade was terrible and Watson is the reason why it's been so bad.
Deshaun Watson claps back at Browns in latest Instagram post
Watson played well during his time with the Texans, which is why the Browns, despite the sexual misconduct accusations, went out and traded five total draft picks for him. Since arriving in Cleveland, however, his play not only dipped off but he was unable to stay healthy, starting 17 games in a three-year span.
Watson's latest setback during his Achilles rehab means that he won't play in 2025 either, putting the Browns in yet another bind at the quarterback position. The trade was bad from the get-go due to the legal troubles Watson was facing but to throw the absurd amount of money that the Browns did at him and then to part ways with five draft picks on top of that? Yeah, it's no surprise that this trade will go down in the NFL history books.
Watson can say what he wants but he has to know that his performance these last few years has been atrocious. The Browns gave up a ton to land him and he hasn't lived up to the expectations. That's all on him.
