Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, recovering from a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon, has been out of his walking boot for weeks and throwing to receivers at the team’s practice facility, Cleveland.com reported.
The rehab process for Watson, who is all but written off for the 2025 NFL season, has been “excellent,” according to the report.
Watson on Monday posted a photo of himself throwing at the Browns’ facility; Cleveland.com reported wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and David Bell, the latter rehabbing from surgery to repair a dislocated hip, have been working out with Watson.
The team, however, selected two quarterbacks in April’s draft and signed two others in anticipation of not having Watson until 2026.
Watson, 29, is recovering from a pair of Achilles tendon surgeries in a span of less than four months. He played in 19 of a possible 51 games with the Browns since being acquired from the Texans in March 2022, a deal Cleveland made despite the quarterback being accused of committing sexual improprieties by more than two dozen massage therapists in the Houston area.
Even Browns owner Jimmy Haslam went on the record in March to label the trade a “swing and miss,” a major revelation considering it came from the individual approving Watson’s checks.
Watson posted a brief video addressing the doubters last month.
“Everyone is doubting me. Everyone don’t believe in me,” Watson said in a video posted to Instagram. “Everyone don’t think I can get back to where I was. But I know, and I believe the work that I put in, that I believe in myself. … I know, I’m gonna be way better than before.”
When the calendar turned to April, Kenny Pickett was the only healthy quarterback on the Browns’ roster. They quickly changed that, signing Joe Flacco to a one-year deal and then selecting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the draft.
While the training camp battle that’s to come will bring some clarity to the QB room, a potential Watson return midseason would further complicate the team’s roster decisions.
The Browns reworked Watson’s contract in March, clearing $36 million in cap space, leaving Watson with a base salary of $1.255 million for the 2025 season.
With the Browns, Watson has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
