The Cleveland Browns announced this past Wednesday they opened the practice window on former Clemson star quarterback Deshaun Watson.

It marked Watson’s first time formally being on the field since he suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear during Cleveland’s Week 7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 20, 2024. Less than three months after his initial tear, Watson tore his Achilles for the second time and underwent a second surgery in January to repair it.

While the Browns opened the practice window on Watson, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that “they did so in order to give him his first practices this season so that he would not be away from football until next spring.”

After opening his practice window on Wednesday, the Browns have 21 days from that time to activate Watson to their 53-man roster, or he will be sidelined for the rest of this season.

According to Schefter, Watson is unlikely to play this season, but the Browns are planning for him to be back on their roster next season.

Schefter reports “there are varied reasons the team expects Watson back next season, with money being a factor,” and “the Browns believe Watson has contributed to their quarterback room and provided a veteran presence that has had value for their rookie quarterbacks.”

In March 2022, Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns after being traded from the Texans to the Browns, who gave away a bunch of draft picks (including three first-round picks) in the deal.

Of course, Watson 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 in 2022 after having to serve a suspension and then was limited to just six games in 2023 and seven in 2024 due to season-ending injuries.

A three-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Houston Texans, 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 Texans and Browns since being selected by Houston in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.

In 19 games for the Browns, Watson has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.

–Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze-Imagn Images