Kevin Stefanski shares puzzling answer about Deshaun Watson’s future with Browns

The Cleveland Browns are 2-7 and even their head coach is confused about their quarterback situation.

While Kevin Stefanski committed to Dillon Gabriel and stomped out speculation that fifth-round rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders could be taking over the offense, he completely avoided the topic of Deshaun Watson.

Watson has been aggressively rehabbing his twice-ruptured Achilles tendon and is getting closer to being medically cleared. When Stefanski was asked about the team potentially opening his 21-day practice window, he delivered one of the most bizarre replies imaginable.

“I'm not sure if that's what we're doing,” Stefanski said.

Each week, Stefanski gets asked about the potential of Watson’s return. Typically, the sixth-year head coach will deliver rehearsed responses about Watson’s rehab process and decline to open his return window.

So side-stepping a question about Watson’s potential return to practice is notable.

Even though the Browns loved Gabriel in the pre-draft process, it’s hard to find any reason to believe that the third-rounder is a long-term solution. Upon being asked about areas where Gabriel had shown improvement throughout his first five NFL starts, Stefanski could not even identify one area of improvement.

Additionally, any hope of seeing Sanders just feels distant. Even though he’s currently the backup quarterback, Stefanski said it would not be fair to speculate when he could take over the reins, as Gabriel is committed to improving.

Watson’s contract is infamously fully guaranteed – meaning the Browns are paying for his rehabilitation right now and he’s still on the books in 2026 as well. Many fans have been anticipating a post-June 1st release of the failed quarterback. He’s played just 19 games for the Browns since the controversial trade and extension took place in 2022.

Stefanski’s non-answer is also notable because it calls into question who makes these sort of decisions within the organization.

Coming out of the bye week, Stefanski handed offensive play calling duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees so he could adopt the “CEO” role as head coach. Browns general manager Andrew Berry usually makes roster decisions, but he ducked his bye week media availability, leaving Stefanski out to answer these uncomfortable questions by himself.

Watson’s second Achilles tendon surgery happened in January. According to his social media workout videos, he certainly seems to be getting closer to action.

While Browns owner Jimmy Haslam called the Watson trade a swing and a miss, Cleveland’s head coach might have accidentally left the door open for his return.