Despite a disappointing and lost 2025 season that will see the new Cleveland Browns finish like the old Cleveland Browns, the organization doesn’t plan on making sweeping changes—not to its roster, coaching staff, or front office. Per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, quarterback Deshaun Watson, head coach Kevin Stefanski, and GM Andrew Berry will all return to the team next season.
“Stefanski and Berry will be at the controls next year, but it’s unclear what Watson’s role will be as he recovers from Achilles surgery,” Jones wrote Saturday morning.
“Stefanski and Berry signed contract extensions in the offseason, and owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have planned for their return in 2025 all season long.”
Cleveland sits at 3-10 and last-place in the AFC North. They entered the year believing they could challenge for the division crown in what would’ve been their first division win since 1989. But the season got off to a disaster, blown out in the opener to the Dallas Cowboys and losing six of their first seven. Over that span, Watson was lost for the season, tearing his Achilles in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals. Replacement Jameis Winston has made them more competitive and earned AFC North wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, but the course of their season has remained the same.
The biggest question Jones alludes to is Watson’s role. On a fully guaranteed contract that is impossible to move, Cleveland is stuck with him for at least one more season. The debate will be whether Watson will start or if the team will stick with Winston or take some other avenue. Benching Watson can at least be done partly under the guise of his rehab, and perhaps he begins next season on the Reserve/PUP list, buying the team at least six weeks of not carrying Watson on the 53-man roster.
“Sources have indicated the Browns will not release Watson in the offseason, and he likely wouldn’t be able to pass a physical until late in the summer at the earliest,” Jones’ report noted.
To their credit, the Browns are finally showing patience. Watson doesn’t warrant it, but Stefanski and Berry will get at least one more season to see things through. Cleveland’s roster has talent, which makes its 3-10 record all the more disappointing. It makes 2025 a must-win season, or big changes will likely occur ahead of 2026.
