Deshaun Watson will likely miss next season as well

His deep fall continues: Deshaun Watson.
picture Alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS

As the Cleveland Browns announced on Friday, Watson tore his right Achilles tendon again while in rehab. According to the statement, Watson complained of feeling unwell at the Browns’ final season physical after he sprained his ankle during rehab he completed in Miami. An MRI revealed that the Achilles tendon had torn again. The quarterback has already undergone surgery.

Watson first tore his Achilles tendon in October in the Browns’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals and was mocked by his own fans. The 29-year-old’s season had ended prematurely – like the one before it. In 2023, Watson suffered a serious shoulder injury that ended his season in November.

New quarterback for Cleveland?

Since he signed a then-record contract in Cleveland in 2022, Watson has not played more than seven games in any season. In his debut season, he only played the last six games in the Browns uniform because he had previously been suspended for a long time due to numerous allegations of sexual harassment from his time with the Houston Texans.

Watson played his last full NFL season in 2020. He will probably only start late in 2025, if at all. “Watson’s downtime and return to play are uncertain,” the Browns statement said. “He will likely miss some of the 2025 season.” According to a report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Watson could even miss the entire upcoming season – at a time when the old one isn’t even completely over. It’s the next chapter in the deep fall of the first star quarterback.

Since Watson has never been confident athletically when he’s played in Cleveland, it seems increasingly likely that the Browns will prove a successor in the offseason. Thanks to a record of 3-14 in the regular season, Cleveland has the second pick in the upcoming draft and could therefore draft one of the two top quarterbacks, Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders.