Insider addresses if Deshaun Watson could be an option for Browns during 2025 season

A report from late May indicated that Deshaun Watson could potentially try to return to the Cleveland Browns' active roster during the 2025 regular season after he suffered a torn Achilles in October 2024 and then tore the Achilles again during his recovery.

On Sunday, Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted that Watson will miss at least the first four games of the upcoming campaign while on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. 

"One league source said Watson could be ready to practice sometime in October, but it remains to be seen if the Browns would open the window that soon, roughly nine months post-op," Cabot added. Whenever he begins practicing, Cleveland will have 21 days to activate Watson or stash him on the physically unable to perform list for the remainder of the season.

"Watson could conceivably be activated by late November or early December," Cabot continued. "But the Browns won’t even entertain the notion until Watson has been cleared by doctors to play. Even then, it seems like an enormous longshot for him to land on the active roster this season, let alone set foot in a game."

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam seemed to suggest earlier this spring that Watson had played his final snap as a member of the organization when Haslam said the franchise "took a big swing and miss" by acquiring the 29-year-old and giving him a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022. Thus far, Watson has made just 19 regular-season starts with the Browns since he served an 11-game suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions in 2022. According to ESPN and Pro Football Reference, Watson's 23.4 QBR for last season would've had him ranked last in the league in that category if he finished Week 18 among qualified players. 

Meanwhile, the Browns completely restructured their quarterback room this offseason when they acquired Kenny Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles before Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco. The Browns then grabbed rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders during this year's draft. 

"Sources say Watson has been an awesome teammate inside the quarterback room and meeting rooms and has been a great cheerleader for the four quarterbacks vying for the starting job in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders," Cabot said. "He’s been especially helpful to the rookies in Gabriel and Sanders, who are working overtime to remain in the starting mix."

 

As of Monday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook had Flacco as a +110 betting favorite to start Cleveland's Week 1 game versus the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. Pickett was at +200 odds, followed by Gabriel at +500 odds. Sanders was a +700 betting underdog to begin the season as Cleveland's QB1. 

Watson will mostly be a non-factor from the opening day of training camp through the preseason. That said, it certainly sounds like the Browns could give him a chance to reclaim his starting job late in the 2025 campaign, depending on the state of the club whenever he is cleared to resume practicing.