Deshaun Watson last played in October 2024, and this season marks the final year of his multi-year, $230 million contract.

As the 30-year-old veteran is gearing up to play again, a report from Zac Jackson of The Athletic has revealed this status with the team. 

“[Todd] Monken has only met with Deshaun Watson once,” Jackson wrote. “Watson, who hasn’t played since October 2024 due to a twice-torn right Achilles tendon, has been medically cleared for competition and will be in the building next week. The team’s formal but voluntary offseason program begins Tuesday.”

If all goes well in Watson’s favor, the 2026 season will be a huge one for him and the Browns. 

The quarterback is returning to the field after re-rupturing his Achilles tendon. As a result, he played in only 19 games in the last four years. Watson started 17 of those and scored 19 passing touchdowns for 3,365 and 12 interceptions.

He became a major liability for the franchise because they had signed him for five years with a guaranteed contract worth $230 million. Jimmy Haslam, the franchise owner, called it “a big swing-and-miss with Deshaun" last year.

But recent reports suggest that Haslam might give Watson another go as the starting quarterback.

Jimmy Haslam Has Adopted a New Attitude Towards Deshaun Watson

In March, Haslam took everyone by surprise with his renewed stance on Watson. He stated that Watson was a capable player who could make up for a great comeback story. Although nothing is cemented, the Browns are “cautiously optimistic.”

“Deshaun started great, and the year before we signed him, he was rated the second-best quarterback in the NFL,” Haslam said. “And then the suspension and the injuries and all that piled up. Can he come back from that? He certainly had the ability at one point in time, and we’re cautiously optimistic.”

In 2020, Watson had a completion rate of 70.2 per cent and scored 33 passing TDs for a league high 4,823 yards with seven INTs. 

In his absence, the Browns underwent an exhausting quarterback shuffle, which has frustrated spectators. The franchise is yet to find its long-term reliable QB who would perform well under new head coach Todd Monken’s strategies. 

While they oscillate between the existing roster and picking a new QB from the upcoming draft, Watson should be the solution to their woes.

Do you think Deshaun Watson will win the QB1 position? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore