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NFL Deshaun Watson hasn't played since October 2024, when he ruptured his Achilles tendon. Kirby Lee / Imagn Images PHOENIX — Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said at the NFL owners’ meetings Monday that Deshaun Watson has a “fresh start” and a “great chance” as Cleveland’s multi-decade search for an answer at the game’s most important position continues. Haslam’s comments come one year after he called his franchise’s trade for and commitment to Watson a “big swing and a miss. ” Advertisement Watson didn’t play in 2025 while recovering from a twice-torn right Achilles tendon. The Browns reworked Watson’s contract earlier this month to clear around $35 million in cap space. And when the team begins its formal offseason program under new coach Todd Monken next week, Watson will be competing for the starting job ahead of the final year of his five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract the Browns gave him after spending three first-round picks to acquire the quarterback in 2022. “Like most things we say, we could probably articulate a little bit better, ” Haslam said of his 2025 description of the team’s 2022 trade for Watson. “But listen, it’s not for lack of effort, OK? I mean, I don’t think anybody in our organization would question (Watson’s) effort, his toughness, everything he’s put in the job. The reality is he’s had major injuries: his shoulder (and) torn the Achilles tendon twice. So he’s been really ravaged by injuries and that, along with the 11-game suspension, has kept him from playing. ” Watson has played 19 games in his four seasons with the Browns. The Browns fired coach Kevin Stefanski in January and hired Monken, who Haslam said is “an offensive-minded coach who has, in his past, been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make them successful. So Deshaun has a great chance to do that now. ” On Sunday, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said if the team adds a quarterback, it will likely be a younger player. The Browns hold pick Nos. 6 and 24 in the first round of next month’s draft and two more selections in the top 70. Berry and Haslam said Monken will decide who the starting quarterback will be. For now, Watson is one of three quarterbacks on the roster. Shedeur Sanders started the final seven games of his rookie season in 2025, and the Browns have Sanders, Watson and fellow 2025 rookie Dillon Gabriel ready to begin working with the new staff next week. Advertisement The Browns opened the 21-day practice window for Watson in December, but after three weeks as a limited participant, Watson reverted to the physically unable to perform list. Watson was limited to six games in 2022 after serving an 11-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and his 2023 and 2024 seasons were ended by injury and subsequent surgeries. Watson has completed 61 percent of his passes in a Cleveland uniform, and the Browns are 9-10 in games he’s started. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Zac Jackson is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Cleveland Browns. He is also the host of the "Zac Jackson and Friends" podcast. Previously, Zac covered the Browns for Fox Sports Ohio and worked for Pro Football Talk. Follow Zac on Twitter @Akron Jackson