When the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns struck a deal for Deshaun Watson in March 2022, it changed the QB market across the NFL. However, the Browns think they have their QB of the future, while the Texans will be happy with the return. But who really won the trade?
Deshaun Watson Texans-Browns Trade Details
When Watson was sent from the Texans to the Browns, it was a seismic moment in the NFL. The cost of the trade and the massive salary reverberated around the league.
Watson was coming off a season where he had sat out the entire year because Houston decided not to pay what he believed he was worth. The Texans were left with no option but to explore a trade for Watson.
The year of missed time had burned bridges, which opened the Texans to the trade market. As did the situation that surrounded Watson during this time.
Watson was in the middle of a legal battle due to allegations of sexual misconduct and had a potential suspension heading his way from NFL HQ. The suspension ended up being for 11 games during the 2022 season and was accompanied by a $5 million fine.
There was no way that Watson would have been welcomed back in Houston, and so a bidding war ensued. ESPN reported the battle involved the Browns, the Panthers, the Falcons, and the Saints.
It had originally appeared the Falcons and the Saints were the favorites to land Watson’s signature, so the Browns upped the ante with a huge trade and contract offer.
The Browns received:
- QB Deshaun Watson
- 2024 fifth-round pick
The Texans received:
- OL Kenyon Green (2022 first-round pick via trade)
- DE Will Anderson (2023 first-round pick via trade)
- WR Tank Dell (2023 third-round pick via trade)
- 2024 first-round pick
- 2024 fifth-round pick
Three first-round picks is the going rate for franchise quarterbacks in the NFL, but along with the hefty cost of draft picks, the Browns also had to to pay Deshaun Watson. And the Browns didn’t just pay him; they gave him the farm.
Watson signed a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. At the time, it made him the highest-paid QB in the NFL. Watson carries an enormous cap hit of $63.9 million in 2024, 2025, and 2026, reports Spotrac.
Who Won the Watson Trade?
The immediate winner of the Watson trade has been the Texans. They have not only avoided having to pay a monster contract, but they have also managed to find cornerstones of their franchise.
They have managed this whilst also selecting QB C.J. Stroud, who has looked like an elite franchise QB in his rookie year.
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Houston has used the capital gain from the Watson trade to great effect. Kenyon Green has been good enough on the offensive line, while Will Anderson is a linchpin on the defensive line.
The Texans were also able to select WR Tank Dell with the capital obtained from the Watson trade, and he was outstanding in his rookie year before a fractured fibula cut his season short.
There may have originally been some reluctance to move on from Watson, given how difficult it is to find upper-tier quarterbacks in the NFL.
However, with the impactful use of draft picks and the money saved, the Texans are sitting pretty sweet right now.
For the Browns, they haven’t got the performances or results out of Watson that they expected when they made the trade. Time off the field, through suspension and injury, has clouded his time in Cleveland.
However, even when he has been on the field, he hasn’t hit the heights that he did during his time with the Texans, although some of Watson’s performances before his season-ending injury in 2023 will give the Browns hope that there is more to come.
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