Cincinnati Bengals fans have enjoyed watching the Deshaun Watson era with the Cleveland Browns go as poorly as it has. The Browns paid a lot of money and draft capital to bring Watson to Cleveland only for him to struggle on the field and to stay healthy as well.
In three years with the Browns, Watson has only started 17 games and has not looked anything close to being what Cleveland paid him for. In fact, the best the Browns have looked since Watson got there was when he missed time in 2023, paving the way for Joe Flacco to help lead them to the playoffs.
With Watson set to miss all of 2025 due to a setback while recovering from a torn Achilles, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has finally decided that he's seen enough to publicly state his disappointmenton the trade.
“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. … (the trade) was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable.”
Browns owner finally admits Deshaun Watson trade was a bust
Bengals fans have loved seeing this trade backfire on the Browns. First and foremost, it's the Browns so anything bad happening to them is pure entertainment for Bengals fans. Secondly, Watson is not a good person, so him underwhelming on the field has also been fun to watch.
The Texans definitely won this trade, as the picks they received from the Browns in the Watson deal helped them land Will Anderson Jr. and Tank Dell. Meanwhile, all the Browns got was a bad quarterback and struggling to find consistency at the sport's most important position.
Bengals fans have enjoyed sitting back and laughing at this brutal mistake by the Browns. They never learn, do they?