BREAKING NEWS: Browns Owner Admits "Swing and Miss" on Deshaun Watson Deal

Lost—perhaps purposely—in the fervor over a possible tush push ban this week at the owners’ meetings was something fairly extraordinary. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, in an on-the-record conversation, described the team’s decision to acquire and extend Deshaun Watson in 2022 as a “swing and miss” and, for the first time, publicly accepted blame for what he called an “organizational decision.” 

While this is far from satisfying, especially because it came only after Watson was proved to be a massive disappointment on the field—a possibility that was strategically overlooked when the franchise signed him amid more than two dozen accusations of sexual harassment, assault or misconduct—it does seem to signify a breaking point between the Browns and a quarterback who is still wearing team gear and, at least at some point in time, has appeared in the team facility rehabbing in an attempt to come back and play. 

This is how it was always going to end. Not with the stadium burning down, or some kind of public Dark Knight Rises–style trial where some among us would get the pound of flesh, but by a kind of sober administrative announcement dealt in the same tone and tenor of some quarterly earnings report. (Who, by the way, can hold the Haslams accountable like they’re asking? Does anyone have enough money to help Drew Carey purchase the Browns?) Certainly not with some degree of satisfaction for those who had to watch Watson paraded around like a franchise savior. Certainly not with a My bad acknowledgement from fans who took any instance of legitimate reporting on Watson’s misdeeds as a personal attack standing in the way of their long-desired relevance. 

Some of us could see it coming a mile away. Watson’s injury history, combined with the rapidly-changing NFL, the age of Cleveland’s roster and the inevitability that some key foundational pieces such as Bill Callahan were always going to move on, were a recipe for disaster, especially given the stakes of the signing and the tumult from which the Watson signing arose. 

But from this position of humility—again, I suppose you can call it that (I certainly strained to) and it’s absolutely the best we’re going to get—should arise some clarity. Throughout owners’ meetings, discussions about the Browns drafting a quarterback with the No. 2 pick were also a topic. Hopefully, it has become clear that hurling a malleable young figure into this situation to be the possible Week 1 starter, fresh off the heels of the Watson disaster and with an offensive front that needs some replenishment, would be like pouring dry leaves into this fire. 

Note my wording here. I’m not saying the Browns can’t select a quarterback. I’m saying that the Browns need to buy themselves time and they need to buy themselves the perception of competence, which means that any draftee, be it in the first round or a later round, should be forced to comply with the Patrick Mahomes–Jordan Love rule. Aligning themselves with organizations that have actually developed star players at the position is the quickest way to make people forget about what is absolutely the worst trade in NFL history.  

Now, the only way for that to happen is for the team to swing a trade with the Atlanta Falcons and add Kirk Cousins to the room. With Aaron Rodgers theoretically closing in on a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Joe Flacco another two years older after his miraculous Comeback Player of the Year run in Cleveland and all other capable veterans spoken for, Cousins is the singular option remaining who checks all of the boxes for Cleveland at the moment:

• Someone who can operate Kevin Stefanski’s offense immediately.

• An affable personality capable of navigating a veteran locker room.

• An efficient player who can string together enough victories to make the post-Watson fallout seem less rudderless.

• Someone who can set a culture and an expectation for whenever Cleveland decides to select its next passer via the draft. 

Is Cousins perfect? Of course not. However, he was a poor match for the Falcons’ offensive structure and was still recovering from an injury that takes time for a player of his age to bounce back from. His ceiling is much higher than most currently understand it to be. 

Imagine the Browns hurling Shedeur Sanders into the rigors of the AFC North immediately on the heels of spending all of their other high-end draft capital on Watson. We keep suggesting that this fan base cannot endure any more disappointment, but if Haslam wants to find out what truly being held accountable looks like, producing another handful of sub-optimal QB seasons and firing another top-three pick into the sun while the rest of the league gets better may end up getting him there. 

Thankfully—and, really, undeservedly—a common sense solution exists. The path away from Watson begins with ignoring the attitude that got the team saddled with this massive albatross in the first place. It begins with the acceptance that before the Browns attempt to be great—so great that people would ultimately forget the circumstances under which Watson was signed and grow to love them—they must prove, at the very least, that they can be good. Haslam took the apology shortcut this week, but there is no way to circumvent the path to the right kind of relevance.