BEREA — The only certainty regarding Deshaun Watson’s future with the Browns is that they owe him $92 million over the next two years.

Everything else regarding the quarterback is up in the air.

At his annual press conference, general manager Andrew Berry was mostly noncommittal about Watson on Wednesday, saying he wasn’t ruling out the divisive QB returning for Cleveland in 2025 despite another significant injury, three disappointing seasons and a separation. fan base.

Watson is recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon that occurred Oct. 20 in a loss to Cincinnati. That, and the fact that Watson is among the lowest-rated quarterbacks in the NFL this season, has led to speculation about how — or if — he fits with the Browns, who made a franchise-altering trade to acquire it in 2022.

Berry was asked directly if Watson would play for Cleveland again.

“It’s always possible,” Berry said, leaving the door open to other options.

With eight games remaining in a season the Browns (2-7) should include the playoffs, Berry said now is not the time to look beyond the remaining schedule or dwell on the past, but rather focus on improving the team.

And that goes for Watson, too.

“Really, our goal with Deshaun, I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a serious injury, is first and foremost to get healthy and make sure he’s healthy afterward. his Achilles injury,” Berry said. “Everything else we’ll deal with later.”

While Berry may say so publicly, it’s reasonable to assume the Browns are planning for life with or without Watson, who is in the “very, very early” stages of his rehabilitation, the general manager said. There’s not a moment to waste in scouting potential QBs in next year’s draft class or filling the gap until they find a franchise QB.

It was supposed to be Watson. It didn’t work.

The team’s decision to trade three first-round picks to the Houston Texans and then sign Watson, 29, to a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract backfired.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Watson is 9-10 in just 19 starts with Cleveland. He was suspended 11 games by the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy during his first season with the Browns and the last two ended prematurely with injuries – a broken shoulder in 2023, a broken tendon in 2024.

But even when healthy, Watson hasn’t been very good. Sure, he had some impressive moments, whether it was avoiding a sack to complete a pass or scrambling for a first down. He completed all 14 passes in the second half of a comeback last year in Baltimore before breaking a bone in his throwing shoulder.

However, there were just as many bad streaks: upsets, bad decisions and losses. The Browns were 1-5 this season and hadn’t scored 20 points in any game before Watson was injured on a running play against the Bengals.

Berry, however, said it wasn’t fair to blame Watson for everything.

“We didn’t play well as a team and we didn’t play well as a unit on offense,” he said. “A lot of times when you’re not playing well on offense, it’s obviously your starting quarterback and your referee who will be criticized the most. But the reality is, for offenses, it comes down to a matter of organization and timing.

“There’s just a lot of shared responsibility between the different position groups as to why we haven’t been performing well.”

Watson will earn $46 million in each of the next two seasons, and the Browns, who reworked his payment this season to open up salary cap space, will take home $72 million in 2025 and 2026, impacting their ability to repair a roster with talent and holes.

The deal was universally criticized, with some calling it the worst in NFL history.

The team’s owners, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, were widely criticized for the decision because of money and because Watson’s signing came amid allegations of sexual misconduct while he played for the Texans. He was accused by around twenty women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions.

Berry reiterated that the exchange was collaborative.

“Like we always said, we all agreed,” Berry said. “Everyone agrees and, obviously, with great commitment to this, that will always be the case.”

Watson’s arrival in Cleveland was met with a mixed reaction from fans, some of whom were disgusted that the team would add a player of questionable character. Then, after Watson went down with an injury last year, the Browns signed Joe Flacco as a free agent and the veteran QB led them to a playoff berth.

The team’s choice not to bring back Flacco further alienated Watson’s detractors. Things took a turn for the worse last month when there was derisive applause from Browns fans when Watson was injured, a reaction that angered several of his teammates.

Berry was asked if the unfavorable response would affect the QB’s future decisions.

“We love our fans,” he said. “We know they are passionate and love the team. When we make organizational decisions, they will always be within the framework of what we believe is in the best interest of the franchise. Some of it will be popular, some of it will be unpopular, but that’s really how we’re going to do it.