Pro Football Focus named 15 potential trade candidates of the 2025 offseason and listed Deshaun Watson among them.
The Cleveland Browns recently restructured Watson’s contract, and the new deal indicates that the former Clemson star quarterback is expected to be back in Cleveland next season.
However, PFF still sees Watson as a player the Browns could part ways with via trade this offseason.
PFF’s Bradley Locker weighed in on that possibility:
“The Browns seem to be giving Watson one last chance to prove himself, but that doesn’t mean Cleveland won’t finally cut the cord once and for all. Whether through the draft or free agency, general manager Andrew Berry is poised to add another legitimate signal-caller — and it wouldn’t be a shocker if that newcomer supplants Watson.
“In his three seasons in Cleveland, Watson has never exceeded a 66.8 season-long passing grade. More specifically, he’s notched a single-game overall grade of 80.0 or better in only one of 19 games as a Brown. There’s little defense to even restarting the Watson engine one more time — and a high chance that the Browns move on soon.
“The caveat with moving Watson is that the Browns would almost definitely need to do so later in the offseason. According to Over the Cap, Cleveland would incur $26.9 million in dead cap in both 2025 and 2026 if trading Watson after June 1; that number climbs all the way to $80.7 million in 2025 alone if before that date. That could actually work in the organization’s favor, allowing a competition to play out before making a final verdict.”
In March 2022, Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns after being traded to Cleveland from the Houston Texans. With his contract restructure, he is still owed $92 million fully guaranteed over the next two seasons, but now his contract will be easier to manage when it expires after the 2026 season.
Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury earlier this season in the second quarter of the Browns’ 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 20 in Week 7. It was the latest setback for Watson, who has faced plenty of adversity in recent seasons, on and off the field. He played in just six games in his first season with Cleveland after having to serve a suspension and he was limited to just six games in 2023 due to injury.
Watson, who was placed on IR on Oct. 22, completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,148 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions in seven games this season. He also ran for 148 yards and another score on the ground.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Watson has a 66.2 completion percentage for his career with 17,904 passing yards and 123 passing touchdowns with 48 interceptions in 73 career games with the Browns and Texans after being selected by Houston in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.