The Browns’ search for their next franchise quarterback has become quite clearer after news broke Friday about Deshaun Watson’s setback.

First reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon again during the inital recovery process and the quarterback underwent surgery on Thursday to repair it.

With the recovery process taking a full nine months for a high impact activity such as football, it puts Watson’s 2025 season in serious doubt.

Watson ruptured his Achilles in late October in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals which ended his 2024 season.

Browns General Manager Andrew Berry told reporters on Monday in his end of season press conference that Watson told the team on Sunday that something wasn’t feeling right during his recovery process and that it was a “set back” but didn’t know the severity of it at the time.

With now a second rupture and subsequently another surgery, this will likely keep Watson off the field for the entire 2025 season and will put even more focus on the quarterback position for the Cleveland Browns if it wasn’t in the team’s plans already.

The Browns hold the second overall pick in April’s NFL Draft and could select either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders with that pick. They also could seek out veteran options such as trading for Kirk Cousins if Atlanta doesn’t release him or sign someone in free agency such as Jameis Winston, Sam Darnold, or any other potential options come mid-March.

Either way, this makes things even clearer that the Watson Era is officially over in Cleveland and the Browns search for the next franchise guy will be ramping up this offseason. Watson is under contract through 2026 but there’s no realistic chance he will ever see the field as a member of the Browns again.