The Cleveland Browns have made a decision regarding former Clemson star quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed this week that Watson will not be activated this season and that he will not play in 2025.
“On the roster, we will not active Deshaun, so he will go back to reserve/PUP [physically unable to perform list],” Stefanski said during a press conference Tuesday. “But really proud of the progress that he’s making. He’s doing a really nice job in the meeting room, on the field, these last few weeks.”
On Dec. 3, the Browns opened the practice window on Watson. It marked his first time formally being on the field since he suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear during Cleveland’s Week 7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 20, 2024. Less than three months after his initial tear, Watson tore his Achilles for the second time and underwent a second surgery in January to repair it.
Watson has been doing individual drills and running the scout team offense. Tuesday, when the practice window closed, was the deadline to activate Watson from the PUP list. Stefanski added that it felt like the “right decision” not to activate Watson.
“Yeah, he’s done a great job with everything that’s been asked of him,” Stefanski said. “I’ve gotten to see him just work so hard, whether it’s in the training room, by himself in the indoor with the trainers, on the practice field now for the last bit. But it just felt like this was the right decision for him and for us, and his focus will continue to be to help this football team and continue to get healthy and get stronger and all those types of things.”
While the Browns opened the practice window on Watson, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that “they did so in order to give him his first practices this season so that he would not be away from football until next spring.” While Watson won’t play this season, the Browns are planning for him to be back on their roster next season, according to Schefter.
Schefter reported “there are varied reasons the team expects Watson back next season, with money being a factor,” and “the Browns believe Watson has contributed to their quarterback room and provided a veteran presence that has had value for their rookie quarterbacks.”
In March 2022, Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns after being traded from the Texans to the Browns, who gave away a bunch of draft picks (including three first-round picks) in the deal.
Of course, Watson has faced plenty of adversity in recent seasons, on and off the field. He played in just six games in his first season with Cleveland in 2022 after having to serve a suspension and then was limited to just six games in 2023 and seven in 2024 due to season-ending injuries.
A three-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Houston Texans, Watson has a 66.2 completion percentage for his career with 17,904 passing yards and 123 passing touchdowns with 48 interceptions in 73 career games with the Texans and Browns since being selected by Houston in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.
In 19 games for the Browns, Watson has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.
–Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee-Imagn Images