Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s season appears to be over, but how long his recovery takes after Sunday’s Achilles injury remains to be seen.
Watson has a ruptured Achilles tendon and will undergo surgery soon, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
What’s unclear is the nature of the surgery, with Watson considering both conventional surgery and a newer “speed bridge” procedure that can result in a faster return to action. That’s the surgery Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had last season, and he was able to resume practicing faster than most players with Achilles tears.
Of course, Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week One and still wasn’t able to return by the end of the season. Watson tore his Achilles in Week Seven, so even with the faster recovery he wouldn’t be playing this season.
A faster recovery could give Watson a jump start on the offseason, but does that even matter at this point? Trading for Watson has been such an unmitigated disaster for the Browns that they’d love to be done with him, but the enormous guaranteed salaries he has for the 2025 and 2026 seasons mean he’s going to be a major drain on their salary cap whether he’s on the team or not, and whether he’s healthy enough to play or not.
