Browns Warned About Deshaun Watson’s Future Plans

The Cleveland Browns could be headed for a high-stakes standoff with quarterback Deshaun Watson as he works toward returning from a significant injury that derailed his career.

Watson, recovering from his second torn Achilles tendon, is determined to get back on the field. But that determination may complicate the Browns’ plans, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

“If he gets a clean bill of health, that’s going to complicate Cleveland’s plan this year. They’d love for him not to play,” Florio said. “They have an insurance policy if he’s unable to play because of his twice-torn Achilles tendon. They’d get back a lot of cash, they’d recover a lot of cap space, and they don’t really need him. They’ve got four quarterbacks.”

Watson has been documenting his recovery on social media, sounding like a quarterback eager to return to the field as soon as possible. If he does, it could lead to a showdown with the Browns.

“They don’t want that. He could eventually file a grievance. Deshaun Watson would be arguing that he’s healthy and the Browns would be arguing he’s not,” Florio said. “If Deshaun Watson were to win, the Browns would either have to put him on the roster, trade him, or cut him. It’s that simple.”

Deshaun Watson Unlikely to Play for Browns Again

When Watson does eventually return — whether this season or next — it’s unlikely that he’ll start another game with the Browns.

Since the 2022 blockbuster trade, Watson has a 9-10 record as the starter in Cleveland, including a disappointing 1-6 mark in 2024 before his injury. Over that span, he has thrown for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam also admitted defeat on the Watson deal, calling it a “swing and miss.”

“We took a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun,” Haslam said in March at the league’s annual meeting. “We thought we had the quarterback; we didn’t. And we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him, so we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.

“… [The trade] was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee [Haslam] and I, so hold us accountable.”

Deshaun Watson May Get Final Chance in NFL

Watson’s future might not be in Cleveland. But Florio could see Watson getting another shot elsewhere as a backup.

“I tend to think he will somewhere, somehow. But it’s going to be most likely with a different team,” Florio said. “Probably somewhere as a backup who ends up in a game at some point with a chance to prove he’s still got some of that magic that made him the guy who could have been the MVP — not just Rookie of the Year — in 2017; the guy who got a big contract from the Texans in 2020, and the guy who the Browns gave up three first round picks plus the $230 million fully guaranteed contract in 2022.”

Watson, 29, is eager to prove he can still be a capable starter in the NFL. But he faces a significant uphill battle as he tries to get his career back on track.