When the Browns drafted two quarterbacks last month, it technically expanded their depth chart at the position to five. As a practical matter for 2025, it’s four.
Unless it isn’t.
Despite the widespread belief that Deshaun Watson has been written off for the coming season, thanks to a twice-torn Achilles tendon, Watson continues to work his way back to 100 percent.
Earlier in what has been a surprisingly busy offseason NFL news week, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported that Watson, who is now out of his walking boot, “has been throwing to Jerry Jeudy and David Bell indoors at the Browns’ facility.”
Cabot characterizes Watson’s rehab process as “excellent.”
If Watson continues to improve, it will make things interesting in Cleveland. And delicate.
Already, they’re going to have to trade or release one of their four healthy quarterbacks — Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders — before the start of the regular season, if not before the start of training camp. If/when Watson is healthy enough to play, what will they do?
It will make it very hard to stash him on the PUP list for 2025, if he’s agitating to be cleared. And it will be very awkward if/when he plays for the Browns, since owner Jimmy Haslam has publicly admitted that arguably the single worst transaction in NFL history was a failure.
Frankly, it’s not impossible to envision the eventual filing of a grievance in which Watson attempts to force his way onto the active roster with the fight centering on Watson disputing the team’s claim that he’s not healthy.
Hovering over the situation is an insurance policy that will give the Browns significant cash and cap savings if Watson can’t play. If Watson has evidence to back up his belief that he has fully healed, the insurance company will be very inclined to seize on that proof in support of a finding that they own the Browns nothing.
