While Cleveland Browns quarterback and former Clemson star Deshaun Watson didn’t play this season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in early December that the Browns were planning for him to be back on their roster next season.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry recently held an end-of-season press conference and commented on Watson’s status ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Berry was asked where Watson stands in terms of the organization, and if he anticipates Watson being on the roster in 2026, as has been reported.

Berry said the Browns currently expect Watson to be on the team next season.

“First, I’ll say we’re very pleased with how Deshaun went through and attacked his rehab this past year, how he engaged with the team, what he did in the meeting rooms. Very pleased with the progress that he made in that regard,” Berry said.

“Look, I can never predict the future, but right now, we do anticipate him being on the 2026 team. But we have a long way to go before we get to that point with any player.”

Back on Dec. 3, the Browns opened the 21-day practice window for Watson. It marked his 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, Schefter reported 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.” The Browns decided to not activate Watson from the Physically Unable to Perform list before the window closed, thus officially ending his season.

Schefter reported “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.

Watson is entering the final year of his deal in 2026 and is expected to compete with Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel for the starting quarterback job.

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.