BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns were informed Thursday that they are no longer in the running to land Deshaun Watson in a trade with the Houston Texans, a team source told ESPN.
Browns met with Watson on Tuesday in Houston and attempted to convince the quarterback to waive his no-trade clause to play for them. But Watson instead eliminated the Browns from contention, leaving the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons as the remaining known contenders for Watson for the moment.
Watson did not play last season following an offseason request to be traded and the emergence of 22 civil lawsuits against him alleging sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions.