Houston Texans Trade Deshaun Watson to Cleveland Browns
The Houston Texans have traded Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. Here are the details of the trade, and then we’ll look at the fantasy football impact.
Receive:
- Three first-round picks
- A third-round pick
- A fourth-round pick
Receive:
- Deshaun Watson
- A fifth-round pick
Receives:
- A five-year, $230 million dollar extension, FULLY guaranteed
Will Deshaun Watson Play This Year?
First, we can’t possibly get into a discussion on fantasy football without discussing the possibility of missed games. The best word to describe how the league hands out punishments, in instances like these, would be “arbitrary." They love to say that they will let the court of law handle things – but then they don’t. Charges were dropped against Ezekiel Elliott, yet the league still served a six-game suspension. The same thing with Derrius Guice – not only were the charges dropped and he was officially suspended for six games, but he has yet to be signed by an NFL team. Ray Rice was suspended for two games and never played again. Tom Brady was suspended for four games because of a discrepancy regarding the amount of air in footballs.
On the flip side, there have been guys who were forgiven fairly easily. Ben Roethlisberger served his four games and was right back out there and he’ll likely get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Michael Vick went to jail for animal abuse and he came back to play. Joe Mixon and Kareem Hunt are seemingly beyond their issues. So the reality is whatever punishment Watson gets (if any), it’s now clear he will play football again. Whether or not the fans accept it or not is up to them.
It’s a difficult topic, but it’s also our responsibility here to give you advice from a fantasy football standpoint. Watson got hurt his rookie year, but not before lighting the league on fire with 21 total touchdowns in only seven games. Leading up to the injury, he scored five, five, three, and four touchdowns. Since then, he’s finished as QB4, QB4, and QB5. There is no question that this guy can play and, if he were to play a full season, he would immediately be in the discussion as a top-five fantasy quarterback in the league because that’s essentially what he’s always been.
Who Wins? Who Loses?
Winner:
Hard to describe anyone in his situation as a “winner," but Deshaun Watson gets to leave the Texans (which he wanted) and he gets a massive new contract. Most importantly, it's a fresh start for him too.
Winner:
Not often are both QBs winners. But the reality is Kevin Stefanski’s offense with Baker Mayfield was one of the most run-heavy in the league. He’ll get traded somewhere where he will presumably be the starting quarterback. Even if it’s to the Indianapolis Colts, he also gets a fresh start and a change of scenery.
Winner:
Yes, the trifecta of QB winners. The odds of Watson ever playing again for the Texans was pretty slim, but now it’s at zero percent. The QB12 last season averaged around 18 points and Davis Mills quietly had the most 18-plus point fantasy games last year of any rookie (with six). He had multiple 300-plus yard passing games and multiple three-plus TD games. Could be a sneaky best-ball pick.
Winners:
This one is pretty obvious. Deshaun Watson is a better quarterback than Baker Mayfield. Everyone knows that. Amari Cooper and David Njoku are presumed to be the top two targets on the Browns this season.
Losers:
This goes for all free-agent or trade-candidate quarterbacks because this move is going to have a “trickle-down effect” on available jobs. Davis Mills was already locked in for the Texans, realistically. Deshaun Watson enters the player pool and takes the Browns job. Baker Mayfield then goes to a team like the Colts or Saints and takes that job. There are fewer starting quarterback jobs now than there were yesterday. It's unfortunate for Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Loser:
It was a long shot and some claim that he’s “QB proof," but even QB-proof players play better with better quarterbacks – and Deshaun Watson is a great one. Brandin Cooks is a loser with Watson leaving town.
Loser:
This might surprise some people because usually with a better quarterback, a rising tide lifts all boats. But there is an interesting phenomenon when it comes to mobile quarterbacks and quarterbacks that stretch the pocket. Andrew Erickson from Pro Football Focus has done some interesting work on the topic and he’s essentially confirmed a suspicion we’ve had within the community – mobile quarterbacks dump the ball down to the running back less often than their peers. Nick Chubb should be fine, but there is a potential for Kareem Hunt to actually get fewer targets than he would with a pocket-passer like Baker Mayfield.
Losers: Jarvis Landry, Austin Hooper
Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper spent all this time playing with Baker Mayfield only to be released right before Deshaun Watson comes to town. Painful.
Related Links:
- 2022 NFL Free Agent Tracker
- 2022 Dynasty Football League Series
- 2022 NFL Team Needs Series
- Dallas Cowboys Trade Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns
- Green Bay Packers Trade Davante Adams to Las Vegas Raiders
Player News
Ravens released K Justin Tucker.
The writing was on the wall after the draft, where Baltimore drafted rookie kicker Tyler Loop as Tucker’s replacement. Tucker has spent most of the late season and offseason dealing with sexual misconduct allegations from massage therapists in Baltimore-area spas, and had by far the worst season of his career in 2024, making 73.3 percent of his 30 field-goal attempts. The Ravens stood by him throughout the process and framed moving on from him as a “football decision” in a statement, but it’s hard to believe they would have moved on from him if not for the allegations. Tucker will likely have to clear his name, as Brandon McManus did this past offseason, before he gets another NFL chance. The NFL’s investigation into Tucker’s behavior is, per CBS’ Jonathan Jones, still “under review.”
Cardinals signed TE Josiah Deguara, formerly of the Jaguars.
Deguara was a third-round pick of the Packers back in 2020 and spent last season with the Jaguars. The veteran tight end has a career receiving line of 50-450-2, with half of his receptions and receiving yards coming during the 2021 campaign. He appeared in three games as a backup last season and shouldn’t be considered a lock to make the 53-man roster.
The Athletic’s Ben Standig believes Brian Robinson could be a “possible or surprising” trade candidate this offseason.
Standig doesn’t seem to present the idea as something that’s sure to happen, but in a mailbag question aimed about recouping picks, he mentioned that Robinson and tackle Andrew Wylie were possible pieces that could be traded to recoup draft capital for 2026. “Meanwhile, two of Robinson’s coaches in Washington, Randy Jordan (Tennessee Titans) and Eric Bieniemy (Chicago Bears), head running back rooms with incomplete depth charts,” Standig notes. The Commanders haven’t really seemed sold on Robinson in flirting heavily with this year’s draft class at running back before taking Jacory Croskey-Merritt in the seventh tround, and it would make some sense to deal him before the season if they don’t intend to re-sign him.
Bills WR Elijah Moore said he would be interested in returning kicks this season.
For his career, Moore has returned two punts and one kickoff, but the former second-round pick said he “would love” to return more kicks next season. Moore signed a one-year deal with the Bills last week after spending the previous two seasons with the Browns. While he can provide solid depth to the Bills’ receiver room (61-539-1 in 2024), it goes without saying that Moore may need to find additional ways to contribute in 2025. Moore returned kicks as a freshman at Ole Miss in 2018, averaging a meager 18.5 yards per return. Under the new rules, it’s possible he could find more success in the role if he’s able to win the job in camp.
Rams signed WR Britain Covey to a one-year contract.
Covey has 11 receptions over the past two years for the Eagles, where he’s worked mainly as a returner before suffering a scapula injury that placed him on injured reserve after Week 3. He was practicing ahead of the Super Bowl but was not activated before the game. He’ll try to catch on as a depth piece with the Rams.
Rams and Matthew Stafford finalized a $44 million deal for the 2025 season.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the deal. While we’ve known since February that a deal had been negotiated, the dollar amount had not yet been disclosed. It was reported in March that Stafford and the Rams will operate on a “year-to-year basis” for the remainder of their relationship, and for this year, he will receive a guaranteed $40 million in addition to another $4 million he has already received. Stafford will be 37 this season and is coming off a year in which he threw for 3,762-20-7 while completing 65.8 percent of his passes. While he’s far from being the elite passer we saw during the prime of his career, Stafford still ranked 15th amongst qualified QBs in EPA per play last season and was seventh in expected completion percent. Rapoport notes that if Stafford is on the Rams’ roster next season he would secure another $40 million for 2026.