Deshaun Watson has become a $230 million headache for the Cleveland Browns. What was supposed to be a blockbuster acquisition has turned into a growing pain. It’s left them with back-to-back losing seasons, a carousel of backups, and the ugliest guaranteed deal in NFL history. Three years in, Watson has delivered more rehab updates than wins (9). But before that comes appearances: 19 out of a possible 57. So, you can understand why his own weapon had enough of it.
Elijah Moore didn’t name names. He didn’t have to. “My whole career I haven’t had too many great opportunities with a stable QB,” Moore said after signing a one-year deal with the Bills. “It seems like I’m playing with five QBs every single season.” That’s not just a casual comment from a WR looking for a fresh start. That’s a pointed reflection on two dysfunctional quarterback rooms. One in New York, the other in Cleveland.
Moore, still just 25, now finds himself catching passes from Josh Allen, the current MVP, in Buffalo. And he sounds like a man who’s finally escaped the noise. “It’s really just an earn-it thing,” Moore told WKBW’s Matthew Bové. “I feel having the MVP for an entire season… I feel it will be the best position I’ve been put in yet.” He called Allen a phenomenal player and an even better person,”and claimed that before signing, “everywhere I went, I would see a No. 17 jersey… and that was enough for me to make that decision.” Subtle? No. Intentional? Absolutely.
Elijah Moore after signing with the #Bills: “It’s really just an earn it thing. When you play football, you can’t promise anything to anyone.. For me, my whole career I haven’t had too many great opportunities with a stable QB.. It seems like I’m playing with 5 QBs every single… pic.twitter.com/HRCp7EP7sU
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) May 5, 2025
This wasn’t just a guy hyping up his new QB. It was a clean break from what Cleveland had promised and never delivered. Moore spent the past year watching Deshaun Watson sit out, suffer injuries, sit again, and lead the locker room from the trainer’s table. Even when Watson suited up, he delivered only average production and showed shaky chemistry. Well, for the chem/synergy you need your QB under center and not in the blue tent. Moore had seen enough. So, he has left. But nothing’s changed.
The Browns are heading 5-strong into the 2025 season, still. Joe Flacco returned, Kenny Pickett came, and Cleveland spent two draft picks on Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. GM Andrew Berry already admitted Watson may not play in 2025, and team owner Jimmy Haslam called the original trade a “swing-and-miss.” Moore just added the punctuation. But there might be a chance for Deshaun to redeem himself.
Deshaun Watson’s redemption arc?
Now, with Deshaun Watson rehabbing a second Achilles tear, the Browns are staring down a quarterback conundrum while dragging financial chains thicker than Myles Garrett’s neck.
But maybe there’s still hope for the Dawg Pound after Watson’s rehab video. In it, the QB looks right into the lens and drops this: “Everyone’s doubting me. Everyone don’t believe in me… But I know and I believe the work that I put in.” It’s real. Alas, so are his struggles.
Jimmy Haslam, never one to sugarcoat, called the trade a “big swing-and-miss.” Translation: we bet the house, and we’re still stuck in the basement. You can see why fans are skeptical. Watson’s had two surgeries since October, and there’s still no return timeline. He turns 30 this year, and his Browns tenure has been mostly injury reports and sideline shots. Just 19 starts in two years. A 34.2 Total QBR. And yet, the cap hit? A monstrous $173 million still remains.
Coach Kevin Stefanski, trying to keep the optimism alive, said Watson’s in rehab “every single day… where he is supposed to be.” But even the most loyal Browns backer has to ask: when’s that going to translate on Sundays? The front office can’t just hit Ctrl+Z on the deal. They still owe $46 million a year, regardless of whether Watson takes another snap.
So, is there a redemption arc here? Maybe. Watson clearly thinks so. He’s betting on himself like it’s 2019 again. But for the Browns? It’s no longer about hope. It’s about math, timing, and whether their QB can actually get back in the game before the contract clock runs out.
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