Steelers Now
The Cleveland Browns have added another option at quarterback ahead of their meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Cleveland Browns are exhausting all of their options at quarterback and that includes potentially giving one of their failed options another chance.
According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, the Browns designated quarterback Deshaun Watson to return to practice on Wednesday.
#Browns Deshaun Watson throwing in practice for the first time since re-rupturing his Achilles last season: pic.twitter.com/dKiWBjCx94
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) December 3, 2025
Watson, 30, has not played since the first half of the 2024 season after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. However, his return to the practice field has fans wondering if he could see playing time once he’s fully healthy.
The Browns are far from contenders this season, sitting at the bottom of the AFC North at 3-9 and are already on their third starting quarterback on the year.
Cleveland began the season with Joe Flacco as its starter but traded him to the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of the NFL trade deadline. The team then turned to third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel, but he struggled to deliver wins while throwing for 937 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions through nine games.
Gabriel has since been benched for fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders, who has gone 1-1 as a starter over the past two weeks.
The Browns likely still want to get more of an extended look at Sanders and have already admitted their trade for Watson was a failure.
“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” owner Jimmy Haslam confessed. “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.”
However, if Sanders fails to deliver better results than Gabriel, they may just opt to get one more look at Watson before potentially rebuilding the room next offseason.
Watson has never played in more than seven games during his tenure in Cleveland. He was suspended for 11 games in 2022 for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy and suffered season-ending injuries in 2023 and 2024.
When Watson has played, he has struggled, completing 341 of 557 passes (61.2%) for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 9-10 record.
It remains to be seen if Watson will get another shot with the Browns, but the Pittsburgh Steelers will surely be monitoring the situation with a Week 17 matchup on the horizon.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Browns Add Another Quarterback into Mix Ahead of Steelers Matchup
