Could Deshaun Watson return from injury in time to play for Browns during 2025 season?

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam seemed to unofficially close the door on the franchise's Deshaun Watson era when Haslam acknowledged earlier this spring that the organization "took a big swing and miss" by acquiring Watson and giving him a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022. 

Watson suffered a torn Achilles in October 2024 and then tore the Achilles again during his recovery. Many have assumed he will never again take an in-game snap for the Browns, but it seems there is at least some chance he could be on Cleveland's active roster before Week 18 of the 2025 season wraps up. 

"The January surgery probably set back a full return to the period of October to January," Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand wrote for a piece published Monday night. "Watson is likely to begin the 2025 season on the (reserve/physically unable to perform list). That means he would miss a minimum of four games. Once cleared to practice, there is a three-week window in which he would be cleared to play or remain on PUP the rest of the year. The speediest a decision could be made on Watson would be in late October. If Watson isn’t cleared to practice until, say, the sixth week of the season, his three-week window would take him into November to decide his roster status. If Watson’s recovery proceeds ahead of schedule, it will be interesting to see what happens."

In total, Watson has made just 19 regular-season starts during his Cleveland tenure. He served an 11-game suspension related to allegations of sexual misconduct during massage sessions in 2022, and his 2023 season ended prematurely because of a shoulder issue. Most recently, he went 1-6 and played poorly as a starter this past campaign before he went down with the initial Achilles injury.

Meanwhile, the Browns began restructuring their quarterback room when they acquired 2022 first-round draft choice Kenny Pickett and veteran Joe Flacco before the 2025 draft. Cleveland then grabbed rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders during the player-selection process. 

It's widely expected that Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski will name either Pickett or Flacco the Week 1 starter later this summer. Additionally, one would think Cleveland won't discard either Gabriel or Sanders before 2026 at the earliest. 

"The Browns reportedly have a $40M insurance policy on Watson’s 2025 salary that would be recoverable if he doesn’t play," Grossi continued. "A $40M+ credit to the salary cap would be applied to 2026 in that case, also."

Flacco turns 41 years old in January 2026, so logic suggests the Browns are hoping that Pickett, Gabriel or Sanders will emerge as a potential franchise quarterback at some point between the final weeks of springtime workouts and the fall. If such a scenario doesn't play out, however, it sounds like Watson could be part of some interesting conversations if he gets cleared to face live defenses in meaningful games later this year.