3 Most Likely Browns Starting QBs for 2025 After Latest Deshaun Watson Injury News

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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The 2024 season was a terrible one for fans, players, and coaches of the Cleveland Browns. After entering the season with high hopes, the Browns finished with a 3-14 record. They own the 2nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and will have the chance to bring in a blue-chip prospect.

This offseason is going to be a critical one for the franchise. GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski know the pressure will be on next season after this brutal showing. One massive question mark got bigger on Friday.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport announced that Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles for the second time and underwent surgery again. His 2025 season is in serious jeopardy now and the Browns will be in the market even more for a quarterback.

Even though Watson has a $72 million cap hit in 2025 and 2026, there's a great chance he won't play for them again.

With that being said, here are three QBs who are most likely to start for Cleveland in 2025.

1. Justin Fields

Quarterback Justin Fields is going to be an unrestricted free agent in March and will have the chance to sign with any team in the NFL. Fields was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers last year and started in six games for them this season. He went 4-2 in that stretch but was eventually benched in favor of Russell Wilson.

Although Fields has been inconsistent throughout his pro career with the Steelers and Chicago Bears, he has shown plenty of flashes. Across 50 career games, Fields has completed 61% of his passes for 7,780 passing yards, and 45 passing touchdowns. He's added 2,509 rushing yards and 19 scores on the ground.

He's a true dual-threat weapon that could give the Browns a solid bridge QB. The Browns would be getting a player highly motivated to show he belongs in the league. Cleveland would be able to sign Fields for around $10-12 million in free agency if they wanted to go down that route.

That's not a bad option for a team that could potentially use that second pick on a dynamic playmaker like Colorado's Travis Hunter.