Although much has been said in recent months about a quarterback competition among four players on the Cleveland Browns-Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders-there is a fifth factor: Deshaun Watson, who is recovering from a terrible injury he suffered last season.
Deshaun Watson suffered two Achilles tendon ruptures-one midway through the season and the other in January during his recovery. That’s why the Browns brought in the other four quarterbacks. Even so, Deshaun Watson has been very focused on recovering, but it still seems highly unlikely that he’ll return.
In fact, it’s very likely he may not even play again for the Cleveland Browns. Three years after signing a fully guaranteed $230 million contract, he has only played 19 games-and frankly, it’s been a total disaster. There are rumors that Deshaun Watson will return to the NFL, but with a team other than Cleveland.
Deshaun Watson has made progress in his recovery
Despite the injury, Deshaun Watson has been actively training separately at the Browns’ facility in Berea. It has even leaked that the quarterback has been throwing passes inside the team’s indoor complex. Still, he’s expected to miss a significant portion of the upcoming season.
Cleveland Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com believes the team will place Deshaun Watson on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list at the end of training camp. That would mean the Clemson product would miss at least the first four games of the upcoming season.
After that period, Watson will have a five-week window to rejoin team practices. Once he starts practicing, a new 21-day window opens during which the team must decide whether to activate him or return him to the PUP list for the rest of the season.
Given his past performances-and the fact that the team now has a high-profile quarterback like Shedeur Sanders-it will be very difficult for Deshaun Watson to play. However, due to the talent he once showed, he could have a chance with a team in need of a quarterback midseason.
Now, the quarterback situation in Cleveland has turned into a full-blown saga. While it hasn’t been officially confirmed by Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Joe Flacco is expected to be the starter due to his strong performance at the end of the 2023 season, when he led the team to the playoffs with four wins to close out the campaign.
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