The Deshaun Watson era with the Cleveland Browns has somehow gotten worse.
The Browns revealed Friday that Watson has torn his right Achilles tendon again, less than three months after sustaining the same injury during Week 7’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 20.
“Earlier this week, when Watson reported to the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus for his exit physical as part of the Browns’ season-ending process, he complained of discomfort after rolling his ankle in Miami. MRI results demonstrated a re-rupture to his Achilles tendon,” the Browns said in a statement.
An update on Deshaun Watson
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— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 10, 2025
The Browns added that Watson “will likely miss significant time during the 2025 season.”
Watson was one of the NFL’s worst-performing quarterbacks in 2024 before his season-ending injury. In seven starts, he led the Browns to a 1-6 record, throwing for 1,148 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions while being sacked 33 times. Due to suspension and injuries, he’s appeared in only 19 games for the Browns across three seasons.
Watson’s time with the Browns has been an unmitigated disaster. Prior to the 2022 season, Cleveland shipped three first-round picks to the Houston Texans for Watson and gave him a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. Watson didn’t play in 2021 after facing over two dozen allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault.
While Watson was never criminally charged, he settled over 20 lawsuits.
NFL analyst proposes Cleveland Browns trade following Deshaun Watson’s latest injury
With Watson expected to miss most of the 2025 season, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky proposed that the Browns, who hold the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, reach out to the Minnesota Vikings about their 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy. The Michigan product missed the entire 2024 season following two knee surgeries.
“I do know this: they’re $63 million in the red for next year’s cap. So you’re not replacing the quarterback position with something expensive; you have to find it in a cheap manner. The only two assets that are worth a lot that the Cleveland Browns have are the No. 2 pick and Myles Garrett,” Orlovsky stated.
“And I entertain the idea, and I think they will at some point have to entertain calling the Minnesota Vikings, maybe if they don’t get somebody in the draft, and saying, ‘Are you willing to part with J.J. McCarthy?’ Because he’s cheap. It depends on if they liked him coming out of college last year and having a conversation around Myles Garrett and/or that number two draft pick.”
The Vikings surprisingly went 14-3 with a resurgent Sam Darnold under center. Minnesota signed Darnold to a one-year, $10 million deal heading into the season and now must decide whether to sign the former first-round pick to a long-term deal or go with the unproven McCarthy.
As for Cleveland, Watson carries a total cap hit of $72.9 million for 2025 and will make $46 million in salary. The Browns’ total cap allocations stand at $346.1 million, highest in the NFL.
Watson still has two years remaining on his contract.
Related: How much of Deshaun Watson’s salary is insured by Cleveland Browns?