The only certainty about Deshaun Watson’s future with the Browns is that they owe him $92 million over the next two years.
Everything else about the quarterback is up in the air.
At his annual bye-week news conference, general manager Andrew Berry was mostly noncommittal about Watson on Wednesday, saying he hasn’t ruled out the divisive QB coming back to play for Cleveland in 2025 despite another significant injury, three disappointing seasons and a split fan base.
Watson is recovering from a season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon sustained on Oct. 20 in a loss to Cincinnati. That, along with Watson being among the lowest-rated quarterbacks in the NFL this season, has led to speculation about how — or if — he fits in with the Browns, who made a franchise-altering trade to acquire him in 2022.
Berry was asked directly if Watson will play for Cleveland again.
“That’s always possible,” Berry said, leaving the door open for other options.
With eight games left in a season the Browns (2-7) expected to include the playoffs, Berry said this isn’t the time to look beyond the remaining schedule or dwell on the past but rather focus on the team getting better.
And that holds true for Watson as well.
“Really our focus with Deshaun, I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury, is first and foremost with the recovery and to make sure that he gets healthy from the Achilles injury,” Berry said. “Everything else we’ll deal with at a later moment.”
While Berry can say that publicly, it’s reasonable to assume the Browns are planning ahead for life with or without Watson, who is in the “very, very early” stages of his rehab, the GM said. There’s not a moment to spare in scouting potential QBs in next year’s draft class or bridging the gap until they find a franchise QB.
That was supposed to be Watson. It hasn’t worked out.
The team’s decision to trade three-first round draft picks to the Houston Texans and then sign the 29-year-old Watson by offering him a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract has backfired.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Watson is 9-10 in just 19 starts with Cleveland. He was suspended 11 games by the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy in his first season with the Browns and the last two have ended prematurely with injuries — a broken shoulder in 2023, the snapped tendon in 2024.
But even when he has been healthy, Watson hasn’t been very good. Sure, he’s had some impressive moments, whether eluding a sack to complete a pass or scrambling for a first down. He completed all 14 passes in the second half of a comeback last year in Baltimore before breaking a bone in his throwing shoulder.
However, there have been as many bad sequences — overthrows, poor decisions and losses. The Browns were 1-5 this season and hadn’t scored 20 points in any game before Watson got hurt on a running play against the Bengals.
Berry, though, said it’s not fair to blame it all on Watson.
“We haven’t played well as a team and we haven’t played well as a unit on offense,” he said. “Often times when you don’t play well on offense, obviously your starting quarterback and your play-caller will get the most criticism. But the reality of it is, offenses, it comes down to organization and synchronization.
“There’s just a lot of shared ownership across the different position groups in terms of why we didn’t perform.”
Watson will make $46 million in each of the next two seasons, and the Browns, who reworked his payout this season to open salary-cap space, will take a hit of $72 million in 2025 and 2026, impacting their ability to fix a roster with talent and holes.
The deal has been panned universally, with some calling it the worst in NFL history.
Team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam were widely criticized for the move because of the money and because Watson’s signing came amid allegations of sexual misconduct while he played for the Texans. He was accused by two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions.
Berry reiterated the trade was collaborative.
“Like we’ve always said, all of us were on board,” Berry said. “Everyone’s on board and obviously with a big commitment in that regard, that’s always going to be the case.”
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland was met with a mixed reaction from fans, some of whom were disgusted the team would add a player of questionable character. Then, after Watson got hurt last year, the Browns signed Joe Flacco as a free agent and the veteran QB led them to a playoff berth.
The team’s choice not to bring back Flacco further alienated Watson’s detractors. Things came to an ugly head last month when there was some derisive cheering by Browns fans when Watson got hurt, a reaction that angered several of his teammates.
Berry was asked if the adverse response will affect any QB decisions going forward.
“We love our fans,” he said. “We know that they’re passionate and they love the team. As we make decisions organizationally, it’ll always be within what we think is within the best interest of the franchise. Some of those will be popular, some of those will be unpopular, but that’s really the way that we’ll navigate it.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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