April 10 (UPI) — Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who struggled to stay healthy and produce over the last three seasons, says he “will be way better” than he was earlier in his career, when he was a perennial Pro Bowl selection.
Watson made the comments in a video he posted to his Instagram account. The footage shows the veteran quarterback working out at the Browns facility.
“Everyone is doubting me,” Watson said. “Everyone don’t believe in me. Everyone don’t think I can get back to where I was. But I know, and I believe, [with] the work that I put in, that I believe in myself.
“The peace I’ve been channeling in these last couple months, I know I’m gonna be way better than before.”
Watson’s post came a week after Browns owner Jimmy Haslam told reporters that the franchise made a mistake when they agreed to acquire Watson in a 2022 trade with the Houston Texans.
The Browns gave up six NFL Draft picks, including three first-round selections in that deal. They then gave Watson, who was suspended for 11 games in 2022 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract.
“We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun,” Haslam said last week at the league’s annual meeting. “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.
“Listen, I’ve said this I think numerous times. The Deshaun Watson [trade] was an entire organization decision and it ends with [co-owner] Dee Haslam and I. So hold us accountable.”
Watson, who underwent a repair of his ruptured right Achilles in January, was wearing a boot over his right foot in the video he posted to Instagram. He is expected to miss significant time — potentially the entire season — in 2025-26.
Watson, 29, also posted photos from a workouts in March and on April 1, a day after Haslam’s comments.
“Maybe, if I weren’t built for this, I’d let it phase me,” he wrote for the caption on the latter Instagram post.
The Browns restructured Watson’s contract in each of the last three off-seasons. He is set to make $46 million over each of the next two seasons, the final two years of the pact.
“The performances comes when your back is against the wall. … You dont have pretty much anything to lose,” Watson said. “I feel like that’s where I’m at right now.”
The Browns, who own the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, have shown off-season interest in Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, among other quarterbacks in the draft class.
