Shortly after the end of last season, it looked like the Cleveland Browns had officially moved on from Deshaun Watson.
Jimmy Haslam admitted that the team had made a mistake by acquiring him, and it didn’t take long before they overhauled their quarterback room.
However, this might not be over yet.
The team hasn’t technically shut the door on him potentially suiting up for them again, maybe even this season.
That’s why team analyst Nick Pedone is worried about the potential repercussions of this stance.
Talking on ‘The BIG Factor,’ Pedone argued that putting Watson back on the field would hurt the team’s morale in a big way:
“[The Browns] leaves the door open for Deshaun Watson to play games for the Cleveland Browns this year. That’s the one thing that they can do to lose everybody. You want that stadium to be empty? Put Deshaun Watson on the field,” Pedone said.
"That's the one thing they can do to lose everybody." #DawgPound@NickPedone12 says the fanbase would explode if Deshaun Watson touched the field this season.
presented by #fairwayford https://t.co/BUzmewFT64 pic.twitter.com/ruovz8VsTG
— The BIG Factor (@TheBIGFactor) August 17, 2025
That makes perfect sense.
The Browns rewarded Watson with a fully guaranteed contract worth a whopping $230 million when he was facing many disturbing accusations.
Then, even when he continued to struggle and cost the team games, he was still out there on the field.
Plenty of fans have seemed to move on from him, and many cheered when he suffered what was clearly a season-ending injury last season.
Watson has done nothing to earn another opportunity with this team or maybe even in the league, and the front office and coaching staff risk losing the locker room by allowing him to play again.
NEXT: Kevin Stefanski Gets Honest About Dillon Gabriel's First Game
