Deshaun Watson starts 2025 season on reserve/PUP list

While it's not a surprise, it is notable all the same.

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will begin the 2025 season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles.

Watson will not be eligible to play for at least the first four games of the season.

After trading Kenny Pickett, the Browns have starter Joe Flacco plus rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders on their 53-man roster to start the year.

Watson has recently been posting videos of him running, showing how his recovery has progressed. If he is medically cleared at some point, he's more likely to end up on the Browns' 53-man roster than to be released, given that the team would incur an enormous 2026 cap charge of $131.161 million with a terminated contract.

But even if he's on the 53-man roster, the Browns could choose to keep him inactive and not play him - similar to what the Texans did in 2021. Watson The franchise has signaled it wants to move on from Watson, with owner Jimmy Haslam terming the Watson trade a big swing and miss" during the annual league meeting earlier this year.

Watson, 29, led the Browns to a 1-6 record in his seven starts last season. He completed 63.4 percent of his throws for 1,148 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

In his 19 starts with Cleveland over the last three years, Watson has completed 61.2 percent of his throws for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 picks, with the club going 9-10 in those games.