Browns owner Jimmy Haslam reveals Cleveland's QB philosophy with No. 2 pick

The Cleveland Browns' championship window may very well have closed the moment they traded for Deshaun Watson in March 2022, and now, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is apparently looking past the Watson era.

While taking accountability for the ill-fated acquisition and contract and as Watson is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and a subsequent setback, Haslam laid out the team's philosophy to the quarterback position.

“The draft is huge for us,” Haslam told the media. “It would be great if we could get ‘the quarterback,' but we're not going to force it. We're going to be patient, and we're going to try to accumulate as many really good football players as we can.”

Haslam did not confirm whether drafting a quarterback at No. 2 overall was a priority, saying rather that getting “good football players” is the priority.

During the media session, Haslam admitted he and his wife, Dee, made a mistake with the trade that netted them Watson three years ago.

“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” Jimmy Haslam told the media, via ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi. “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.”

Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans, arrived to the Browns in a trade that sent back three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a pair of fourth-round picks. Additionally, the Browns gave Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal, which would nearly immediately prove to be a detriment to the Browns.

Watson was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 regular season as a result of about two dozen sexual misconduct allegations, and when Watson managed to take the field, he looked like a shell of himself. In six games in 2022, Watson completed a career-low 58.2% of his passes and threw 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

While Watson's stats improved slightly in 2023, Browns fans' discontent with him grew, and in November, his season ended due to a shoulder injury. Despite losing their starting quarterback and having to start four others at the position over the rest of the season, Cleveland won 11 games and made the playoffs with midseason signing Joe Flacco at the helm.

Watson reassumed the starting role for the Browns in 2024, but he and the team won just one of the seven games Watson started. The final game Watson started was an Oct. 20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, during which Watson tore his Achilles tendon. In January, Watson reinjured his Achilles tendon, calling into question whether he will ever play another game for the Browns.

With Watson almost certainly going to miss the entirety of the 2025 season, Cleveland traded backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for former Pittsburgh Steelers starter Kenny Pickett.