Watson responds – Deshaun Watson responded to Jimmy Haslam’s 15-month-old “big swing and miss” comment by pointing to Bryce Harper’s resilience and insisting his chance can still come. Watson, who has been sidelined since tearing his Achilles against the Bengals on Oct. 20, 202
When Jimmy Haslam wrote Deshaun Watson’s Browns run off 15 months ago, he didn’t pull punches. The owner called the signing “a big swing and miss,” and the team moved on to a long, punishing wait.
Now Watson is back in the conversation, stepping into the final year of his contract and competing for the starting job in Cleveland. The comparison in the QB race is immediate: Shedeur Sanders.
On Wednesday, a reporter asked Watson about Haslam’s “swing-and-miss” remark. Watson didn’t dodge it. Instead, he leaned on a sports story about survival and timing—one that comes with the kind of message you only offer when you still believe your next chance can be a defining one.
“One of my favorite baseball players that I’ve been watching is Bryce Harper. ” Watson said. via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Sometimes he swings, but he stands back up and he gets another opportunity and he hits a home run. So you never know what the opportunity might show up, and that’s what I have right now.”.
Watson hasn’t played since Oct. 20, 2024, when he tore his Achilles tendon against the Bengals. He tore it again a few months later. Last season, he returned to practice, but the Browns never activated him from the reserve/PUP list.
The frustration is built into the record. Watson has already lost 11 games to a suspension in 2022 and another 11 to shoulder injuries in 2023.
“I could say that now I’m fully healthy, ready to go,” Watson said. “This last year I was able to conquer that. Then, I’d just say I haven’t been 100 percent since the Tennessee game [in Week 3] in ’23.”
But the stakes in Cleveland aren’t just about being healthy. They’re about being trusted again—after a stretch that has left “what if” hovering over every offseason.
Watson hasn’t made the Pro Bowl since 2020, the year he was with the Texans. Houston sat him in 2021 before trading him to the Browns in 2022.
In other words, the “swing and miss” insult hasn’t faded. It’s simply changed shape as the calendar has turned. Watson is now aiming to change what the next opportunity looks like—because he believes it might arrive, and when it does, it can land.
Deshaun Watson Jimmy Haslam Cleveland Browns Shedeur Sanders Bryce Harper Pro Bowl Achilles tendon reserve/PUP Bengals
Swing and a miss?? Dude has been on the shelf forever lol.
Bryce Harper comparison is kinda wild but I get it. Still like… if he can’t stay healthy, what’s the point. Browns really love collecting injuries.
Wait so Jimmy Haslam called it a swing and miss 15 months ago and now he’s still competing?? That sounds like they’re just doing the same thing again. Also Shedeur Sanders in the QB race?? I thought that was already decided or something.
Haslam be roasting him but Watson keeps talking about being ready and I’m like… ready for what, another Achilles or another shoulder thing? They didn’t activate him from PUP so is he even cleared or just “in the conversation.” Bryce Harper was like steroids era though, so idk why this metaphor feels backwards. Browns gonna Browns I guess.