The Cleveland Browns made what can be considered at least a somewhat surprising move on Wednesday when the team announced it is designating quarterback Deshaun Watson to return from the physically unable to perform list.
Watson has been on the list since the offseason as he continues to recover from an Achilles injury suffered in 2024. Watson suffered a setback in his recovery, which initially figured to cancel him out for the entirety of 2025.
However, Watson is clearly close to being ready to take the field and now the Browns will have 21 days to activate him from the list or else he'll be forced to miss the remainder of the season.
"Outstanding for Deshaun," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "He's been working so hard. His focus and my focus is getting him back to playing football and practicing football, which he hasn’t done in over a year
Here's a possible explanation for why the Browns are at least considering bringing Watson back this season, and what it means for current starter, Shedeur Sanders.
Why Browns opened Watson's practice window
The simple answer is Watson is healthy enough to practice and return to the field soon after that.
But it's also possible the Browns have an eye on handing the football to Watson at some point during the stretch run of the season.
That would obviously be a mistake because the Browns should be evaluating rookie quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel the rest of the way.
However, allowing Watson to play allows him a chance to improve his stock, which is currently in the toilet. If Watson can play well down the stretch, that could help Cleveland move him via trade in 2026.
That said, it's still going to be incredibly hard to trade Watson, even if he shines.
His albatross of a contract is one major issue, but another is Watson's history of off-the-field issues, which in and of itself could make him radioactive to every other team, as Watson is a walking controversy and distraction.
Those issues would be alleviated if Watson had been playing at a high level, but instead he has been one of the league's worst quarterbacks.
Getting back to the contract: Watson has one more year left on his deal in 2026, but it also carries a cap number of $80.7 million, as well as three void years after that that total about $53 million.
Even if a team is willing to get past Watson's off-the-field issues and trade for him, the Browns won't have any shot to deal him unless they eat a ton of money, and possibly all of it.
What this means for Shedeur Sanders
Watson's return could shorten Sanders' runway as he looks to take off and prove he can be the guy for Cleveland for the long haul.
If Sanders struggles, the Browns might decide it's more worth it to see if Watson can improve his stock in order to boost his trade value for the offseason.
It's pretty clear that the Browns shouldn't put Watson back into the lineup since we already know what he is, but Cleveland isn't a franchise that makes smart decisions on a consistent basis, hence Watson's presence in Cleveland in the first place.
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