Franchise Moments: 
Cleveland Browns' Most Defining Moment of the Last Decade
The Browns have had more misfortune than almost any team in the NFL.
Most of that damage has been done at the quarterback position, with Cleveland cycling through 42 starting quarterbacks since 1999.
That number doesn't even sound real, but it appeared that uncertainty at the quarterback position would change in 2022 when they acquired Deshaun Watson.
Browns' Most Defining Moment of the Last Ten Years
The winner: Deshaun Watson Trade in 2022
Deshaun Watson the Savior?
Browns fans were waiting for a franchise quarterback for decades, and they made one of the biggest offseason splashes when they acquired Watson in 2022. This former first-round pick from Clemson looked like a superstar with the Houston Texans, making three straight Pro Bowl appearances between 2018 and 2020.
That's when the off-field issues started, with Watson sitting the entirety of the 2021 season due to sexual harassment allegations. His tenure with the Texans was essentially over at that point, with the Browns acquiring him in 2022.
It took three first-round picks to acquire Watson while paying him a five-year, $230 million contract. That was the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history at the time, and it was one of the biggest gambles by any team in NFL history.
It's clear how desperate Cleveland was to solve their quarterback position with that gamble, but did it pay off?
The Aftermath
There was probably a vision by the Browns that they were buying low on Watson after the off-field issues, but he was never the same. He was suspended for his first 11 games with the Browns due to those allegations and just never found his footing after that. Watson had just seven touchdowns and five interceptions across the final six regular season games in that debut campaign.
The 2023 season was an improvement, but he only had seven touchdowns and four interceptions across six games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. That arm was clearly not right in 2024, when Watson had five touchdowns across seven games while leading the Browns to a 1-6 record. The bad breaks kept coming when Watson suffered a torn Achilles in 2025, failing to play a single game that season.
One thing that not enough people discuss is that the Watson trade forced the Browns to move on from Baker Mayfield. He was their top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and showed some promise when he led Cleveland to an 11-5 record in 2020. Another bad managerial mistake had him exiled from Cleveland, and he became one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a couple of years later!
Theo GremmingerSee Theo's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Ian HartitzSee Ian's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Jagger MaySee Jagger's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Jim CoventrySee Jim's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Jeff EricksonSee Jeff's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Jerry DonabedianSee Jerry's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Mario PuigSee Mario's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsWhat Now for Cleveland?
The answer to this question is above my pay grade, but there are people in Cleveland's organization making a ton more money than I do. That's a story for another day, but the Browns made some interesting quarterback decisions since that Watson kerfuffle.
Joe Flacco was brought in as a veteran presence while Dillon Gabriel and Shadeur Sanders were both selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Many people were shocked to see Sanders slip to the fifth round of that draft, but he ended up being their best option last season. He started the second half of the season and actually made the Pro Bowl.
That's more telling of how meaningless the Pro Bowl is because Sanders finished with seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 1,400 yards across eight games.
The most hilarious aspect of all of this is that Sanders, Gabriel and Watson are battling for the starting quarterback gig going into the 2026 season.
All indications point to Watson being the guy, but he's only played 19 games since 2020 while looking ineffective in most of those. There's still a chance for a storybook ending and this trade looking like a success, but this is the Browns, after all.
More About The Campaign
The RotoWire expert panel voted to select the single most franchise-defining moment from the last 10 years for all 32 NFL teams. Voting has now closed. The results power a 33-article editorial series published across RotoWire ahead of the NFL season -- one dedicated article per franchise, plus one overarching piece covering the broader trends and standout moments across the league.
