There's good news and bad news for Cleveland Browns fans when it comes to the starting quarterback position in 2025. The bad news is that Deshaun Watson is still going to be on the roster and will have a chance to win the starting job. The good news is that the Browns won't just hand him the starting job on a silver platter.
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Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated discussed in his weekly column how the Browns will keep Watson on their roster but he'll have to work for the starting job. Breer wrote about how the Browns won't just look for a solid backup for Watson but rather someone who can try to unseat him for the starting gig.
"And the plan, going forward, isn’t the same as it has been. Until now, the Browns have built a quarterback room to support Watson. This year, they’ll look, through the draft and/or the veteran market, to add competition to the room. So while the likelihood—because of the injury and the contract—is Watson will be back, the Browns are going to look to do more than just stop-gap the backup spot."
Browns won't just hand Deshaun Watson the starting job in 2025
Yes, the majority of Browns fans would probably be okay with the team simply cutting bait with Watson and moving on but his contract makes that difficult to do. At least the front office seems willing to not hand him the QB1 job and will make him actually work for it.
Watson has been atrocious since the Browns controversially traded for him in 2022, throwing for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 picks in 19 starts while going 9-10 as as starter. In other words, he has not been worth the $230 million in guaranteed money that the Browns threw at him in 2022.
It'll be interesting to see who the Browns bring in to fight Watson for the starting job but hopefully it's someone who can steal the job away from him and finally bring this era of Browns football to a close.