The Cleveland Browns will play the rest of the 2024 NFL season without Deshaun Watson, who suffered a torn Achilles injury in Cleveland's Week 7 loss. When asked whether Watson would ever suit up for the team again, Browns general manager Andrew Berry was noncommittal.
“Yeah, I think that’s always possible,” Berry said.
Watson, who went 1-6 as Cleveland's starter this year, is technically under contract with the Browns through the 2026 season. If they designate him a post-June 1 cut, the earliest Cleveland can release him without losing salary cap space would be following the 2025 season. Berry declined Wednesday to look that far ahead, repeatedly emphasizing that Watson's recovery from injury is the priority.
“Our focus with Deshaun, I would say, for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury is, first and foremost, with the recovery and to make sure that he gets healthy from the Achilles injury,” Berry said. “Everything else we'll deal with at a later moment.”
Berry added that it's “less than ideal” to evaluate Watson as the team's starter amid another extended absence by the quarterback. Cleveland's general manager didn't have a timetable for Watson's full recovery or the next steps, saying it was still too close to the surgery. The former Houston Texans starter served an 11-game suspension to start his first Browns season after facing dozens of lawsuits for alleged sexual misconduct. Watson then missed 11 games due to various injuries in 2023 and finished 2024, having played just seven games.
Are the Browns stuck with Deshaun Watson for forever?
Berry said “everyone was on board” with the decision to acquire Watson in a trade with the Texans in 2022. The Browns surrendered three first-round picks and signed Watson to a fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million. He has two years left on the five-year contract at an average of $46 million annually. However, with how poorly Watson has played, fans want to know if a change at quarterback is coming for Cleveland. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be an option for Berry right now.
“[I]t’s really more not really my focus at this point in the year,” Berry said. “Our focus is really on finishing out the 2024 season, having the team play at a higher level, and we’ll get to maybe those longer-term or big-picture reflections at a later point in time.”
Moreover, Berry also endorsed the coaching staff. He called head coach Kevin Stefanski “absolutely a part of the solution.” Berry also is satisfied with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who is in his first year with the club. So, it looks like nothing will change for the Browns soon.
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