The Cleveland Browns were hit with a major issue on Sunday when their starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson, left the game with a torn Achilles, which will keep him out the entire season and most of next year.
Given how badly he played, there was a good chance the Browns would move on from Watson after this season. Still, Cleveland has an opportunity to let Watson rehab this and next season and try to play him again in 2026 since they are still paying him a boatload of money.
Cleveland Browns Could Replace Watson With A Familiar Face
No matter what happens with Watson, the Browns will still need a new quarterback under center next season, and there is a great chance they could end up with one of their divisional rivals.
Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers benched starting quarterback Justin Fields for Russell Wilson, and now there is a great chance Fields will never get his job back, given the way Wilson played in the second half against the New York Jets on Sunday night.
If Wilson takes the Steelers to the playoffs this season, he most likely will be back with the team next season, leaving Fields as a free agent since Pittsburgh never picked up his fifth-year option, and there is no way he will want to go back the Steelers and compete with Wilson for the starting job again.
Fields would be a nice cheap option for the Browns next season if they don’t want to go down the rookie quarterback route. If he plays well, he could maybe be their future quarterback.
The former Ohio State quarterback is only 25 years old, so he still has many years left. He could be the next Baker Mayfield, who didn’t work out at his first couple of stops but ended up becoming a franchise quarterback for the fourth team he played for.
There is a good chance the Cleveland Browns will look to sign a free-agent starting quarterback next season and build up around them through the draft, and Fields would most likely be one of the top options on their list.