Former Browns player gives bold prediction on return of Deshaun Watson

The Cleveland Browns have found themselves in another year aboard the continuous quarterback carousel, with the Browns already on their second quarterback in the first five weeks of the season.

With the debut of rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel this past Sunday showing signs of promise, the question remains if there will be another quarterback change at some point this season.

There are a few different scenarios in which a change is made, the most obvious being dependent on the overall play of Gabriel. One scenario has made significant waves over the last few weeks, that being the status of Deshaun Watson.

Watson remains on the PUP list as the NFL enters week six, with head coach Kevin Stefanski clearing the air on talks of when Watson could be activated to return to practice with the team in Berea.

Many have speculated exactly when we could see Watson’s return to the field, with one former Browns player giving a bold prediction on Watson’s outlook.

"I would bet on that, that he'll start this season," former Browns offensive lineman John Greco said.

📞"I hope he does, but I would not bet on that. There's just so much of this season left. I wasn't joking about Deshaun Watson, I WOULD bet on that, that he'll start this season."@John_Greco77 on if Dillon Gabriel will start the rest of the season🍿 pic.twitter.com/4tebqOekPN
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) October 7, 2025

It’s never a guarantee in Cleveland that one quarterback will remain at the helm for the entirety of the season. For now, it's Gabriel’s team, but based on how the rookie performs over the course of the next six to seven weeks, the chances we see Watson return as the starting quarterback could ramp up barring any sort of struggles from Gabriel.

This is especially true after Cleveland's quarterback depth chart was jumbled when the Browns traded Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday afternoon.

Watson is still a few weeks away from a return to practice, with Stefanski commenting on his progress as he rehabs from his torn Achilles injury sustained almost one year ago.

Watson signed a massive five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract when he signed with Cleveland that runs through the 2026 season. He is still owed $92 million over the course of this season and next, $42 million in 2025 and $46 million in 2026.

General manager Andrew Berry continues to kick the can down the road with his contract in terms of salary cap, which has given Cleveland flexibility to be active when signing free agents and extending their current players.

With that, the belief is that no matter what the situation is, Watson will remain in play when healthy to be featured as the starting quarterback.

Having a player on the roster regardless of position with that large of a contract is difficult to write off, which strengthens the argument that a return could be in play at some point in the near future.

The Browns will continue to monitor Watson’s progress as the season rolls on and seeing that Watson’s been active on social media with his rehab, the possibility that we see a return to the field this season gains more and more traction with the quarterback carousel continuing to haunt Cleveland.