Watson Predicted to Battle Elite Rookie for Browns Starting QB Job in 2025

Heavy on Browns QB Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns may have some serious competition for the starting job next season.

The Cleveland Browns now appear firmly on track to select somewhere near the top of the 2025 NFL draft, which doesn’t bode well for this season but may actually be the best-case scenario for the struggling franchise.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson remains under contract through 2026 and carries a salary cap hit of $73 million in each of the next two years. Since the Browns fully guaranteed his deal, there is little they can do about that predicament other than to find a quality signal caller at value.

There are only two ways to do that: peel someone off the scrap heap, sign them to a one-year deal and pray (like the Minnesota Vikings did with Sam Darnold this season), or draft a player on a rookie contract capable of starting from Day 1.

Neither option presents a particularly high probability of success, though drafting a QB — and doing so inside the top five — offers the strongest chance.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated predicted that is the path the Browns will follow after Watson suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon against the Cincinnati Bengals, which will cost him the remainder of the season.

“My guess here would be that the Browns wind up with a top-five pick, keep Watson for 2025 and let Watson and the draft pick compete,” Breer wrote on Monday, October 21. “The initial idea of trading for Watson, amid the avalanche of accusations of sexual misconduct, was that it was the only way a good Browns roster would be positioned to compete with the top teams in the AFC.”

Browns Jockeying for Draft Position With Worst Teams in NFL

GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Who that rookie QB might be will depend largely on how the Browns fare over the remainder of the year in comparison to the other worst teams in the NFL.

If the 2025 draft were held today, Cleveland would select third behind the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. The Tennessee Titans would pick fourth followed by the New York Jets at No. 5.

The Patriots just inked their QB of the future after drafting Drake Maye No. 3 overall, so they won’t be looking for a signal caller. The other three teams currently in the top five, however, could be.

Carolina will if they decide to move on from Bryce Young, the first overall pick in 2023, who the coaching staff demoted for approximately four and a half games in favor of Andy Dalton until turning back to Young during a blowout loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

The Titans may have already given up on Will Levis for career backup Mason Rudolph, which means they’ll almost certainly be looking QB in round one next year. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers is 2-5 as the Jets quarterback, in the final year of his contract and approaching his 41st birthday in December.

Handful of QBs Could Fall to Browns, Challenge Deshaun Watson

GettyColorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

The other factor is how good the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 draft class look down the stretch of the college football season.

Among the most likely players to go early next year are currently Jalen Milroe of Alabama, Cam Ward of Miami and Shedeur Sanders of Colorado. A mock draft put together by Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus on October 2 had all three players going in the first round.

Carson Beck of Georgia and Quinn Ewers of Texas could also potentially end up as first-round draft picks next April.