Watson has reportedly been out of his walking boot for weeks and has progressed to throwing indoors at the team facility to both Jerry Jeudy and David Bell. Cabot adds that Jeudy is participating in voluntary team workouts while Bell is working his way back from surgery to repair a dislocated hip. Watson appears to be on the outside looking in with respect to the starting quarterback job in Cleveland after the team added Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and a pair of rookies in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders this offseason, meaning he could be auditioning for others teams in need of a gamble at the position.

“We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole. (It) was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable,” Haslam continued. How we’re supposed to be holding an NFL owner accountable aside, we’ve heard all offseason that the Browns would likely never let Watson play another meaningful snap. The owner talking about Watson in the past tense is truly confirmation that this is over. Cleveland would roll out Kenny Pickett as their starter if the season started tomorrow, but thankfully for them, it doesn’t.

It’s the second time the Browns have restructured Watson’s deal since December. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Browns will owe Watson a minimum salary in 2025 and $46 million in 2026, which would satisfy the remaining money on his deal. Watson ruptured his Achilles in Week 7 of last season and ruptured it again in January while rehabbing. It seems increasingly unlikely that Watson will ever play again for the Browns after a disastrous first three seasons, as the team appears more than ready to move on from him.

Watson re-tore his Achilles in January and is expected to miss “significant time” next season. What Watson was doing at the time of his injury was of interest to the Browns, as anything outside the scope of his rehab and recovery may have created an out for them when it comes to the remaining money on his contract. Watson is owed $92 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons. There’s a very real chance he never plays another snap for the Browns again. That said, knowing he’ll remain with the team for at least 2025, Berry officially cleared the air of any speculation regarding his second injury, and said Watson is determined to return to the field.