A report from earlier this week revealed that some Cleveland Browns players allegedly "felt like a cloud had been lifted" after starting quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending torn Achilles on Oct. 20.
Watson could miss the entire 2025 campaign after he tore his Achilles again during his recovery. While speaking with TMZ Sports on Thursday about Cleveland's quarterback situation, Browns cornerback Denzel Ward seemed to offer a big hint regarding Watson's future.
"We've got a good team for real," Ward said, "but we've got to solidify that quarterback position."
All-Pro pass-rusher Myles Garrett shared a similar perspective in comments featured on the latest episode of the "Hard Knocks: In Season With the AFC North" program. He said the Browns are closer to competing for more than just a playoff berth "than some may think we are," even though Cleveland finished this past season at 3-14. Following the campaign, the Browns parted ways with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and then promoted tight ends coach Tommy Rees to that role earlier this week.
"I don't think we're too far off," Ward added. "We just need to solidify that position."
It seems that Watson has taken his final meaningful snap for the club that acquired him from the Houston Texans in March 2022 and then handed him a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract. He's gone 9-10 across 19 regular-season starts during a Cleveland tenure that most involved would probably prefer to forget for multiple reasons. The Browns can designate him a post-June 1 release in March 2026.
As for Cleveland replacing Watson in the lineup for 2025 and beyond, the club is expected to sign a veteran such as Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons this coming March. The Browns could then land either Miami's Cam Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders with the second overall pick of the upcoming draft.
With that said, Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand recently suggested that Cleveland could pass on Ward and Sanders to target Alabama's Jalen Milroe during the draft. Milroe had the previously mentioned Rees as his offensive coordinator during the 2023 college season.
