Senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco launched a scathing attack on the Cleveland Browns and their owner, Jimmy Haslam, for their botched trade for Deshaun Watson in 2022. Speaking on CBS Sports, Prisco labeled the trade “the worst trade in the history of the National Football League.”
Analyst Slams Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Over Deshaun Watson Trade
Prisco directed a verbal assault on Haslam and the Cleveland Browns for the team’s 2022 trade for then-Houston-Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. The subject arose after Haslam referred to the trade as “a big swing and a miss” during the 2025 NFL Owners Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.
“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. [It] was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable.”
Haslam’s evaluation of the deal wasn’t nearly strong enough for Prisco, though, who had plenty to say on the matter.
“A swing and a miss is one strike, right? This is the equivalent of striking out 50 times in a row,” he said. “It’s the worst trade in the history of the National Football League, and it’s not close.”
Prisco finished with some sarcasm, which he directed at Haslam.
“It was a terrible trade; they’re still feeling the effects of it. Their quarterback situation is a mess. They’re bound by him because of the [salary] cap and the money they spent on him, and they don’t have those draft picks. Other than that, nice job, Mr. Haslam.”
"It's the worst trade in the history of the National Football League and it's not close."@PriscoCBS on the Deshaun Watson trade. pic.twitter.com/REazYhxiIH
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) March 31, 2025
Looking Back at the Browns’ Failed Deshaun Watson Trade
In 2022, the Cleveland Browns sent three first-round picks (2022, 2023, 2024), a 2023 third-round pick, and two fourth-round picks (2022, 2024) for Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick.
The Browns’ trade for Watson was considered incredibly risky at the time due to the multiple sexual misconduct lawsuits that the player was facing. Those off-field issues led to Watson missing the first 11 games of his first season in Cleveland because of a suspension. What makes Cleveland’s decision more shocking is that Watson had missed the entire 2021 season because of similar legal issues before the trade.
The Browns then signed Watson to an unprecedented five-year extension, with $230 million fully guaranteed at signing. Those guarantees mean that Watson will likely remain with the Browns throughout the 2025 season. Even if the team cuts Watson in 2026, it will still cost them a significant dead-cap hit.
The Browns have since struggled to build a competitive team without a first-round pick for three-straight years and with Watson’s monumental contract weighing them down. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans have made two consecutive playoff appearances and are the team to beat in the AFC South.
While the picks that the Texans received were then used in further trades, the deal for Watson has contributed to several key players for Houston. 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson Jr., Tank Dell, Kamari Lassiter, Kenyon Green, and Cade Stover were all drafted by the Texans as a direct or indirect result of those picks. While the team’s trade for Stefon Diggs in 2024 also included a future second-round pick that had originated from the Watson trade,
Overall, Prisco is arguably correct about the Watson trade being the worst in NFL history, especially when his $230 million contract is factored in. Regardless of where it ranks in history, though, it’s a deal that has set Cleveland back multiple years.
Kenyon green wasn’t drafted by the Texans.
Wrong. The worst ever trade was the Herschel Walker trade to the Vikings.