Deshaun Watson may never play another meaningful game for the Cleveland Browns after suffering a second Achilles tear during his recovery from the initial injury on October 20.
According to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, some current Browns players appear unfazed by the prospect of Watson’s absence. “Players told me there was a constant heaviness surrounding Watson in the locker room, and they felt a different energy in the building after his departure following the Achilles injury,” Lloyd wrote. “A couple of veterans said it felt like a cloud had been lifted.”
This tension follows the Browns’ controversial decisions to part ways with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt after they helped lead the team to the 2023 playoffs during Watson’s shoulder injury recovery.
These moves were made to accommodate Watson’s preferences and craft an offense tailored to his strengths.
However, under replacement coordinator Ken Dorsey, Watson’s performance during the first seven weeks of 2024 made him arguably the league’s worst starting quarterback.
The Browns recently fired Dorsey and promoted tight ends coach Tommy Rees to offensive coordinator.
Lloyd noted that Watson frequently missed open receivers as Cleveland stumbled to a 1-5 start. Head coach Kevin Stefanski’s handling of Watson’s errors in film sessions reportedly frustrated some players.
“According to multiple players,” Lloyd explained, “those mistakes weren’t pointed out in film sessions, which upset some veterans who felt Stefanski was reluctant to criticize Watson publicly. When Jameis Winston replaced Watson after his October Achilles injury, players said Stefanski resumed calling out the quarterback’s mistakes in team film reviews.”
The Browns are likely to keep Watson on the roster through next season before releasing him in 2026 as a post-June 1 cut to manage his salary-cap impact. In the meantime, Cleveland could pursue a veteran quarterback like Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers on a team-friendly deal in March and consider drafting Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders with the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
No matter who ends up leading the team next season, it seems clear Watson won’t be greatly missed in the Browns’ locker room.
