Jimmy Haslam says Deshaun Watson has 'great chance, fresh start' with new coach Todd Monken

A year ago, owner Jimmy Haslam called the Browns' blockbuster trade for Deshaun Watson "a big swing and miss."Watson hasn't played since, missing the 2025 season with a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon. But he's healthy again, guaranteed $46 million for 2026 and will compete with Shedeur Sanders for the starting quarterback job.A year later, back at the league meetings, Haslam was asked Monday in Phoenix about Watson's ability to salvage his career and time with the Browns after four lost seasons."There's a lot of quarterbacks who, it seems to be kind of the theme in the NFL, either started, did not start well and take the Super Bowl champ (route)," Haslam told a small group of reporters. "And what a great story that is for Sam Darnold. Deshaun started great and the year before we signed him, he was the second-best quarterback in the NFL. And then the suspension and the injuries and all that piled up."Can he come back from that? He certainly had the ability at one point in time and we're cautiously optimistic."Watson, 30, returned to practice in December for three weeks but wasn't activated to the 53-man roster. He's been throwing and working out and is expected to attend the start of the offseason program next week in Berea with new coach Todd Monken."Now, Deshaun has a great chance, fresh start, offensive-minded coach who has, in his past, been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make them successful," Haslam said. "So Deshaun has a great chance to do that now. We talked to him the other day. He said he weighed the least he had in several years, was in great shape."He'll be here on April 7 when we start and let's see what Deshaun could do. We're all excited."Haslam's "big swing and miss" comment drew plenty of attention, but he was only stating the obvious. The Browns traded a net of five draft picks, including three first-rounders, to the Texans in March 2022 for Watson and convinced him to waive a no-trade clause by giving him a record five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal.Watson, who was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Texans, has played 19 of a possible 68 games with Cleveland, going 9-10 and completing 61.2 percent with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and an 80.7 passer rating."Well, I think like most things we say, we could probably articulate a little bit better," Haslam said of his famous quote. "But, listen, it's not for lack of effort, OK? I mean, I don't think anybody in our organization would question his effort, his toughness, everything he's put in the job."The reality is he's had major injuries. His shoulder, tore his Achilles tendon twice. So he's been really ravaged by injuries and that, along with the 11-game suspension, have kept him from playing."While Watson hasn't played since the original Achilles tear Oct. 20, 2024, the limited practice time last year was encouraging to the organization."He threw the ball well," Haslam said. "But you've got to do it in games, under pressure, et cetera, but he threw the ball well."Haslam included Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick last year, in the competition that's expected to feature Sanders and Watson. Sanders, a fifth-round pick a year ago, went 3-4 as the starter to finish the season. He replaced Gabriel, who went 1-5 before sustaining a concussion that opened the door for Sanders."I think competition's good for all of us," Haslam said. "And they're both competitors. And, listen, would things have been different if Dillon doesn't get a concussion in the Baltimore game? I don't know. So let's not rule him out that quickly, either."We've got three guys who have been successful at various levels and let's see how the competition goes. And we have a head coach who's been very good at developing all kinds of different quarterbacks."Watson only remains on the roster because the Browns owe him $46 million in cash and he carries a $130 million salary cap charge moving forward. That number drops to $86 million after 2026, which is the last year of the contract.The Browns have been looking forward to getting Watson off the books, but general manager Andrew Berry didn't rule out a potential extension for Watson if he were to win the starting job and play well."Just with any veteran player, there's no rule against extending the player's contract if they perform and they do well," Berry said Sunday.Haslam wasn't ready to go there."I think it's really premature to ask those kind of questions," he said. "Let's get him back, see how he plays, and then we'll address that."Haslam, who was joined by wife and co-owner Dee, had an overall message."We'd be remiss if we didn't start by saying that we share our fans' frustration," he said. "The last two seasons have not been good. We're not fun to watch and we hadn't won games. And I just want to let the fans know that Dee and I, JW (Johnson), Whitney (Haslam Johnson), our entire organization feel their pain and we're 1,000 percent committed to getting this fixed and getting it right."And that's easier said than done, the proof's in the pudding, but we are totally focused on getting this fixed. And what we've done in the last few years is not acceptable."The post Jimmy Haslam says Deshaun Watson has 'great chance, fresh start' with new coach Todd Monken first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.