Browns owner’s Deshaun Watson comments leave Adam Schefter’s mind blown

The Cleveland Browns quarterback situation has not gotten any better since their season ended back in early January. In fact, team owner Jimmy Haslam might have made it worse when he said that Watson, the trade for whom he previously admitted was a mistake, has a “great chance” to start for the Browns in 2026.

Apparently, not even ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter could believe what he heard from Haslam.

“Let’s just take the Browns owner at his word, despite the fact that a year ago, Jimmy Haslam thought that Deshaun Watson essentially had played his last down with the Cleveland Browns. … ‘Big swing and a miss’ is what he called it. … And now, a year later, that ‘big swing and a miss’ is stepping back into the batter’s box and getting another crack at the Browns’ starting quarterback job. And when the owner says there’s a great chance, I believe that,” Schefter said on his podcast.

More about Browns owner Jimmy Haslam telling reporters that Deshaun Watson has a “great chance” to be Cleveland’s starting quarterback this season, with @DanStanczyk:

https://t.co/RlFA5cC43y pic.twitter.com/fZFD2okvsk

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 1, 2026

Watson, who will turn 31 in September, has been with the Browns for the last four years, but he hasn’t played much in that time. Since being acquired from the Houston Texans and signing a fully guaranteed $230 million contract, Watson has appeared in just 19 games, and he didn’t appear anywhere close to his three-time Pro Bowler form in many of those outings.

With Watson sidelined due to a pair of Achilles tendon injuries last season, Cleveland started three players at quarterback: Joe Flacco, who was traded midseason to the Cincinnati Bengals, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. It was the fifth year in a row that the Browns had multiple quarterbacks make a start during the season.

Watson is set to make $46 million this season, his final in the five-year deal he signed back in 2022.

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