The Cleveland Browns may not be done with Deshaun Watson after his season-ending Achilles injury but it doesn’t look good for the former Pro Bowler.

Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles rupture in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s his second consecutive season-ending injury. Watson suffered a fractured shoulder last year that limited him to six games and he’s played in just 19 games since 2020.

“Our focus with Deshaun I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury is first and foremost with the recovery and to make sure that he gets healthy from the Achilles injury,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said on Wednesday, November 6. “Everything else we’ll deal with at a later moment.”

Watson getting healthy is one thing but his future as an NFL starter is another. The Browns are linked to Watson through the 2026 season on a fully guaranteed deal. There’s no way out for the Browns, who would incur record-setting cap penalties if they part ways with him.

With that in mind, Berry was asked about the possibility of Watson starting again for the Browns.

Yeah, I think that’s always possible,” Berry said.

It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of Watson, who posted a 1-6 record as the starter this season and provided some of the worst quarterback play in the league. Watson’s defenders would point to sack and pressure numbers, as well as lack of support from his pass-catchers. But most would agree he’s not the quarterback he was with the Houston Texans when he was putting up Pro Bowl-caliber numbers.