Deshaun Watson may never again take a meaningful snap for the Cleveland Browns after the quarterback who first suffered a torn Achilles on Oct. 20 tore the Achilles again during his recovery.
It sounds like at least some current Cleveland players set to remain with the club through this offseason will be just fine if Watson remains away from the team.
“Players told me there was a constant heaviness surrounding Watson in the locker room and that they felt a different energy in the building upon his departure after his Achilles injury in October,” Jason Lloyd of The Athletic revealed in a piece published Wednesday. “A couple of veterans told me it felt like a cloud had been lifted.”
After the combination of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt helped the 2023 Browns qualify for the playoffs as Watson recovered from a shoulder injury, Cleveland controversially moved on from both Flacco and Van Pelt in apparent attempts to keep Watson comfortable in the quarterback room and to run an offense that better catered to Watson’s skill set. Under Ken Dorsey, Van Pelt’s replacement, Watson was arguably the league’s worst QB1 from Week 1 through Week 7 of this season.
The Browns parted ways with Dorsey earlier this month and then promoted tight ends coach Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator on Tuesday.
Lloyd noted how Watson “routinely missed open receivers” as the 2024 Browns fell to 1-5. Head coach Kevin Stefanski had some interesting reactions to seeing such miscues during film sessions.
“According to multiple players,” Lloyd explained, “those mistakes weren’t pointed out in film sessions, frustrating at least a few veterans who believed Stefanski wouldn’t criticize Watson in front of the team. When Jameis Winston replaced Watson after he tore his Achilles in October, players said Stefanski returned to pointing out the quarterback’s mistakes in film sessions.”
The Browns likely will keep Watson on the roster through next season and then designate him a post-June 1 release in March 2026 to reduce salary-cap hits attached to his contract for the 2026 and 2027 campaigns.
Before then, Cleveland could sign a veteran such as Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons or Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets to a team-friendly deal this coming March and then select either Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders with the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Regardless of who is on the roster when training-camp practices open this summer, it appears Watson won’t be all that missed in the Cleveland locker room.
