Three-time Pro Bowler whose Browns contract has become one of the league's most discussed trade liabilities.
Deshaun Watson sits at a career crossroads. The 2024 Achilles tear required two surgeries and kept him out for all of 2025. Cleveland enters 2026 with him under contract through 2026 on a fully guaranteed deal, and the team has held the No. 1 pick at multiple drafts trying to find an offensive answer around him.
Path to the league
Clemson national champion in 2016 who beat Alabama 35-31 to win the title. Texans took him 12th overall in 2017. Three Pro Bowls and a 2020 NFL passing yards title in Houston. Traded to Cleveland in March 2022 in a deal that included three first-round picks and a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
Career highlights
3x Pro Bowler. 2020 NFL passing yards leader (4,823). 2016 College Football Playoff National Champion (Clemson). Career: 22,000-plus passing yards, 150-plus TDs, 60.3 career completion percentage.
2025 season and outlook
Did not play. Suffered an Achilles re-rupture in January 2025 after appearing close to a return. Cleveland started Jameis Winston, Bailey Zappe and rookie Shedeur Sanders in 2025. Watson is expected to be cleared for OTAs in June 2026 but the team has not committed to him as the starter.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Deshaun Watson
- Pro Football Reference: Deshaun Watson
Statistics
2025 season and career▶Passing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | RTG | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | browns | 7 | 137 | 216 | 1,148 | 5 | 3 | 79.0 | 21.0 |
| 2023 | browns | 6 | 105 | 171 | 1,115 | 7 | 4 | 84.3 | 43.7 |
| 2022 | browns | 6 | 99 | 170 | 1,102 | 7 | 5 | 79.1 | 40.4 |
| 2020 | texans | 16 | 382 | 544 | 4,823 | 33 | 7 | 112.4 | 63.7 |
| 2019 | texans | 15 | 333 | 495 | 3,852 | 26 | 12 | 98.0 | 70.5 |
| 2018 | texans | 16 | 345 | 505 | 4,165 | 26 | 9 | 103.1 | 61.8 |
| 2017 | texans | 7 | 126 | 204 | 1,699 | 19 | 8 | 103.0 | 83.7 |
▶Rushing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | browns | 7 | 31 | 148 | 4.8 | 1 | 16 |
| 2023 | browns | 6 | 26 | 142 | 5.5 | 1 | 16 |
| 2022 | browns | 6 | 36 | 175 | 4.9 | 1 | 21 |
| 2020 | texans | 16 | 90 | 444 | 4.9 | 3 | 16 |
| 2019 | texans | 15 | 82 | 413 | 5.0 | 7 | 30 |
| 2018 | texans | 16 | 99 | 551 | 5.6 | 5 | 34 |
| 2017 | texans | 7 | 36 | 269 | 7.5 | 2 | 49 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Quarterback
- Group
- offense
- College
- Clemson
- Hometown
- Gainesville, GA, USA
- Age
- 30
- Status
- active
Latest news about Deshaun Watson
All news →Shedeur Sanders is closing the gap in Cleveland's quarterback race
After a bumpy rookie year, the Browns' second-year passer has turned his footwork and processing into real progress, and Cleveland is no longer rushing to name a starter.
Did the Broncos rewrite the salary cap rulebook by cutting Russell Wilson?
Denver swallowed a record dead money charge to move on from Russell Wilson in 2024. Two years later, the league appears to be following its lead.
No starter named, young receivers pop, defense rebuilds: five things learned from Browns OTAs
Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders split first-team reps without resolution, a rebuilt offensive line settled into place, and new head coach Todd Monken made his standards unmistakably clear.
Deshaun Watson, Healthy at Last, Says He Is Ready to Fight for the Browns' Starting Job
Speaking for the first time since rupturing his right Achilles in October 2024, the Browns quarterback declared himself fully healthy at minicamp and brushed aside owner Jimmy Haslam's infamous 'swing and miss' remark.
AFC offseason grades: who reloaded, who reached, and who is still figuring it out
Houston added two starters on the cheap. Pittsburgh chased Aaron Rodgers. The Titans drafted Cam Ward. We rank the AFC's offseasons by who pulled off the most of what they needed.
When NFL owners run their football operations, the results land everywhere on the map
Jerry Jones, Jeffrey Lurie, Jimmy Haslam and the McCaskeys offer four very different case studies in what owner involvement actually produces.
