The Cleveland Browns made a surprising move recently when the team decided to designate quarterback Deshaun Watson to return from injured reserve.
Watson's practice window was opened on Wednesday and he went on to turn in three limited practices over the course of the week before being ruled out for Sunday.
While it was always highly unlikely that Watson would play in his first week back at practice after spending all year on the shelf recovering from his Achilles injury, many are wondering if he might play at some point in the next few weeks.
Here's what we know about that.
Will Deshaun Watson play in 2025?
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Watson is not expected to play in 2025, but he is expected to be on the roster in 2026, which is the final year of his contract.
The idea behind designating Watson to return was just to get him back at practice so he gets some reps before the offseason hits, Schefter revealed.
"Though quarterback Deshaun Watson is unlikely to play this season, the Cleveland Browns are planning to have him on their roster next season, league sources told ESPN," Schefter said.
"The Browns opened the practice window on Watson on Wednesday, but they did so in order to give him his first practices this season so that he would not be away from football until next spring," Schefter added.
The Browns should not even consider giving Watson the football this season, even if he's healthy enough to return.
Cleveland needs to continue evaluating rookie quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel to make sure they aren't the long-term answers before the Browns are faced with drafting another quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft.
As much as the Browns would probably like to unload Watson in 2026, that isn't likely to happen.
Not only is he untradeable given his off-the-field issues, poor play in recent years and massive contract, the Browns aren't going to cut him, either, as doing so will incur a massive dead-cap charge Cleveland isn't looking to take on.
Instead, the Browns will hold on to Watson for one more season and have him serve as the veteran contingency plan at quarterback if Sanders and Gabriel fail, and if the Browns draft a quarterback who isn't ready right away.
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