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Daniel Oyefusi, ESPN
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson underwent surgery Thursday after tearing his right Achilles tendon again, the team announced.
Watson’s “recovery time and return to play status is uncertain, and he will likely miss significant time during the 2025 season,” the Browns said in a statement. Sources tell ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Watson’s recovery is expected to take at least seven months.
During his season-ending exit interview earlier this week, Watson complained of discomfort after rolling his ankle while in Miami. A subsequent MRI revealed a “re-rupture to his Achilles tendon,” the team said. Watson met Thursday with Dr. Robert Anderson before undergoing the surgery.
The 29-year-old Watson initially tore his Achilles Oct. 20, marking the second straight year his season ended because of injury. He also missed the final eight games of the 2023 season after undergoing surgery to his throwing shoulder.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry said earlier this week during his end-of-season news conference that Watson’s setback would not significantly impact the team’s offseason plans at the quarterback position. The only other quarterback under contract for the 2025 season is Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a 2023 fifth-round pick who struggled in his two starts this season. Jameis Winston, who started seven games after Watson’s injury before being benched, is an unrestricted free agent. Bailey Zappe, who started the season finale, is a restricted free agent.
The Browns hold the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which could be used on one of the top quarterback prospects.
“I think the reality of it is that room, it will look different next year,” Berry said Monday.
Watson has two years remaining on the five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal he signed before the 2022 season. The Browns owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons and he has cap hits of $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026, currently the second highest in the NFL. Watson has played in just 19 games since the Browns traded three first-round picks for him in March 2022. He posted the lowest Total QBR in the NFL before his season-ending injury.
The Browns and Watson in late December agreed to rework his contract, adding void years that allow the Browns to push out his dead salary cap into 2030, league sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.