Watson underwent successful surgery Friday to repair a ruptured right Achilles' tendon, Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official site reports. With his surgery going off without any complications, the 29-year-old quarterback should be back to full health for the start of the 2025 season, provided he steers clear of setbacks during what will be a lengthy rehab process. Though the Achilles surgery could curb Watson's rushing ability moving forward, the bigger question is whether he'll re-emerge as a starter in 2025 for the Browns or another team. He's still on the Browns' books through 2026 on a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract, but Watson has hardly resembled the franchise quarterback that Cleveland thought it was getting when they acquired him in March 2022. Through his 19 career starts with Cleveland over three seasons, Watson has led the team to 9-10 record while completing 61.2 percent of his throws for 6.0 yards per attempt and a 19:12 TD:INT to go with 465 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.
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IR - Achilles - Surgery Expected Return: 2025-02-10Latest Deshaun Watson news
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Watson underwent successful surgery Friday to repair a ruptured right Achilles' tendon, Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official site reports. With his surgery going off without any complications, the 29-year-old quarterback should be back to full health for the start of the 2025 season, provided he steers clear of setbacks during what will be a lengthy rehab process. Though the Achilles surgery could curb Watson's rushing ability moving forward, the bigger question is whether he'll re-emerge as a starter in 2025 for the Browns or another team. He's still on the Browns' books through 2026 on a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract, but Watson has hardly resembled the franchise quarterback that Cleveland thought it was getting when they acquired him in March 2022. Through his 19 career starts with Cleveland over three seasons, Watson has led the team to 9-10 record while completing 61.2 percent of his throws for 6.0 yards per attempt and a 19:12 TD:INT to go with 465 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.
Watson is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday to repair his ruptured right Achilles' tendon, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. He'll have the procedure overseen by Packers team physician Dr. Robert Anderson, who specializes in foot and ankle orthopedic surgeries. According to Cabot, Watson will be facing a nine-month recovery, which should put him on pace to be close to 100 percent before the start of the 2025 season. Though Watson is still on the Browns' books through the 2026 season after signing a five-year extension for $230 million guaranteed in March 2022, his poor play and inability to stay on the field over his first three seasons in Cleveland could prompt the team to go in a different direction at quarterback in 2025, even if he's fully healthy.
The Browns placed Watson (Achilles) on injured reserve Tuesday. After Watson suffered a season-ending ruptured right Achilles' tendon in Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Bengals, the Browns didn't wait long to move him off the 53-man roster to clear a spot for another quarterback in Bailey Zappe, who was signed off the Chiefs' practice squad. With Watson set to undergo surgery in the near future to address the injury, the Browns will turn the offense over to either Dorian Thompson-Robinson (finger) or Jameis Winston beginning with the team's Week 8 game against the Ravens. Since being traded to the Browns in March 2022 and signing a five-year, $230 million extension, Watson has made just 19 appearances and has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 6.0 yards per attempt and a 19:12 TD:INT. If he experiences no complications in his recovery from surgery, the 29-year-old Watson should be cleared in advance of the 2025 season, though given his poor form over the past few seasons, it's unclear if the Browns will view him as a viable starting option.
Watson (Achilles) is done for the season after an MRI on Monday confirmed a torn Achilles, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Watson's season-ending injury during Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Bengals puts Jameis Winston in position to enter the starting lineup for Cleveland, though it was Dorian Thompson-Robinson (finger) who suited up as the Browns' backup quarterback Sunday versus Cincinnati. After a contract restructure to create cap space in 2023 and 2024, Watson is on the books for a $46 million base salary in each of the 2025 and 2026 seasons, though it's possible that insurance for season-ending injuries could now provide the Browns with some relief. In any case, Watson faces a lengthy recovery process that could put him at risk of being unavailable early in the 2025 campaign.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski noted after Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Bengals that Watson is believed to have suffered a season-ending Achilles injury but will undergo testing to confirm the severity of the issue, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports. With Watson facing the possibility of an extended absence and Dorian Thompson-Robinson dealing with a finger injury, Jameis Winston is currently the healthiest Browns' QB ahead of next Sunday's game against the Ravens. In any case, look for added context regarding Watson's injury to arrive no later than Monday, but based on the initial diagnosis, he appears headed for IR in the coming days.
Watson won't return to Sunday's game against the Bengals after suffering an Achilles injury. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, it is feared that Watson suffered a torn Achilles, and if that's the case, the QB would face an extended absence. With Jameis Winston serving as the Browns' emergency third QB on Sunday, Dorian Thompson-Robinson has taken over for Watson versus Cincinnati.
Watson was carted off the field during Sunday's game against the Bengals, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com, after suffering what may be an Achilles' injury, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Prior to his exit from game, Watson completed 15 of 17 passing attempts for 128 yards and carried twice for one yard. With Jameis Winston having been made the Browns' emergency third QB on Sunday, Dorian Thompson-Robinson has replaced Watson.
Watson completed 16 of 23 passes for 168 yards in Sunday's 20-16 loss to the Eagles. He added 17 rushing yards on four carries. While the 29-year-old quarterback didn't commit any turnovers and posted a season-high 7.3 yards per attempt, Watson also failed to get the ball into the end zone -- the Browns' lone touchdown on the day came on a return of a blocked field goal. As is becoming routine in Kevin Stefanski's post-game comments, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the head coach said he isn't benching Watson, but with the team now at 1-5 and the QB having failed to throw for 200 yards in any of those contests, he's probably running out of chances to turn his year around. Cleveland is expected to get Nick Chubb (knee) back in Week 7 against the Bengals, which could buy Watson a little more time if the star running back can help boost the performance of the offense.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski reiterated Monday that Watson is still the team's starting quarterback, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. "I have to coach better," Stefanski said. "As offensive coaches, we have to coach better. As players, we have to play better. Deshaun can play better, he will play better." Stefanski said as much following Sunday's 34-13 loss to the Vikings and still feels the same way after having a night to sleep on it. Watson and the Browns travel to Philadelphia for Week 6, bringing an offense that ranks last offensively in yards per play (3.8), yards per game (239.4) and third-down efficiency (18.2 percent). The Eagles rank 27th in total yards allowed per game (365.8) and 24th in passing yards allowed per game (237.0).