In 2022, the Cleveland Browns thought they had found their franchise quarterback when they traded three first-round picks and more to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson.
Now, as we approach the 2025 NFL Draft, not only has Browns owner Jimmy Haslam admitted the deal was a mistake, but a former NFL scout, John Middlekauff, believes Watson will never play another game in the NFL.
Jimmy Haslam’s Comments on Watson
Before we dig into Middlekauff’s comments, here’s what Haslam had to say about Watson, according to Mary Kay Kabot of Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer: “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.”
In trading away those three first-round picks, the Texans managed to use one to help move up to No. 3 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft and take defensive end Will Anderson. He went on to win AP Defensive Player of the Year honors.
John Middlekauff Believes Deshaun Watson Will Never Play in the NFL Again
On his podcast 3 and Out with John Middlekauff, Middlekauff predicted that Watson was done in the NFL.
He started recapping Haslam’s comments before saying, “Deshaun Watson will never play another game for the Cleveland Browns. His career for the Cleveland Browns is over.”
Middlekauff continued: “I’d even go as far to say I don’t think Deshaun Watson will ever play in the NFL again.”
He then went on to add, “If you follow football, you know the Deshaun Watson trade, contract has been an all-time disaster. Now you factor in extensive injury history; shoulder, Achilles, then you factor in the baggage off the field… I don’t think he ever gets signed in the NFL again.”
As Middlekauff mentioned, the Watson in Cleveland experiment has not gone well.
He signed the largest-ever fully guaranteed deal (five years, $230 million). Since joining the Browns in 2022, he’s played just 19 games. He was suspended for the first 11 games and fined $5 million in 2022.
In 2022, he went 3-3 and completed 58.2% of his passes for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Then, in 2023, he hurt his shoulder and played just six games. In 2024, he tore his Achilles and played just seven games.
To make matters worse, he re-tore his Achilles in the offseason after initially tearing it in October and undergoing surgery. Now, he’s likely out for the 2025 season anyway.
All in all, across 19 games with Cleveland, he went 9-10 and completed 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
According to PFSN’s QB+ metric, Watson finished 39th with a score of 44.3.
“In 2024, Watson ranked in the bottom five for nearly all of the metrics we look at, including third-down conversion rate (19.7%; 39th), nYPA (4.4; 39th), passing from a clean pocket (-0.01 EPA/DB; 38th), and passing when under pressure (-0.55 EPA/DB; 37th). If not for the contract situation, we would likely not even be considering whether Watson might start in 2025 or beyond,” wrote PFSN.