In March 2022, the Cleveland Browns traded three first-round picks (2022-2024), one third-round pick (2023), and two fourth-round picks in 2022 and 2024 to the Houston Texans in exchange for quarterback Deshaun Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick. This trade came after multiple years with quarterback Baker Mayfield, as the Cleveland Browns sought a change after another four years of continued disappointment. The Cleveland Browns are infamous for their lack of success in completely missing the playoffs or early exits  — even after making multiple good draft picks.

The Watson trade and signing was a final move to be the last piece in making the Browns a playoff contender. After trading for Watson, they signed him to a five-year contract worth $230 million, which is the most lucrative in league history. This move is very risky for the Browns since Watson’s most recent game before the signing was in January 2021.

Watson has been out so long due to many, many allegations of sexual misconduct adding up to more than 20, at the time of writing. This resulted in Watson being suspended for the first 12 games of the current 2022-2023 NFL season. During that time, Jacoby Brissett filled in as quarterback, and overall has led the Browns to a record that is very mediocre 4-7 due to many unfortunate losses that many times proved to not be Jacoby’s fault.  Jacoby threw for 2608 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions throughout the first 11 games of the season, but for the rest of the season, it was Watson’s turn.

Watson returned from his suspension on Dec. 4 against his former team and his performance was unimpressive, as he didn’t throw for any touchdowns, threw an interception, threw for 131 yards, and overall had a quarterback rating of 53.4. Though the Browns won this game, Watson definitely disappointed. Moving forward, both Browns fans and players definitely hope that he can turn it around and help the Browns make a push for the playoffs and even a good playoff run potentially. In Watson’s career with Houston in four seasons, he threw for 14,539 yards, had 104 touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 104.5. Overall, the Cleveland Browns hope he can be their main quarterback for years to come and justify investing in him as a player.