Watson’s last game action was in Week 7 of the 2024 season. Ian Maule / Getty Images
The Cleveland Browns have opened the 21-day practice window for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson has spent the entire season on the physically unable to perform list. He suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon last October, then suffered the injury again in January while rehabbing.
Though Watson’s return to practice leaves open the possibility that he’ll be activated at any point in the next three weeks, the 3-9 Browns right now are focused on Watson just returning to the practice field with his teammates for the first time in almost 14 months. Even if Watson is activated, there’s no guarantee he will play this season.
“(Playing) is not really my focus with (Watson) right now,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “It’s not his focus right this minute. His focus is on putting on a helmet, putting on shoulder pads, throwing a football. He’s worked really, really hard and done everything he’s been asked. He’s been really supportive of his teammates.”
Watson will be listed as a limited practice participant on Wednesday’s injury report. He’s been with the team since the spring and has worked out individually with the team’s training staff during standard practice days.
In March, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam called the team’s 2022 trade for Watson “a big swing and miss.” The Browns gave Watson $230 million guaranteed and traded three first-round picks to Houston to acquire him, but the results haven’t come close to matching the investment.
Watson has started 19 games over three seasons with the Browns. He was limited to six games in 2023 after serving an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and each of his last two seasons has been ended by injury and subsequent surgeries. Watson has completed 61 percent of his passes in a Cleveland uniform, and the Browns are 9-10 in games he’s started.
The Browns still have a huge financial commitment to Watson, who counts just under $36 million on the team’s 2025 salary cap and is currently scheduled to count for just over $80 million in 2026. The Browns have re-worked Watson’s contract multiple times to lower his cap numbers and could do so again after this season.
Stefanski called Watson’s return to practice “a big next step” but reiterated that the team is focused on this week’s game versus Tennessee and rookie Shedeur Sanders’ third start.
Dec 3, 2025
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