Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has not taken an NFL snap since Oct 2024, when he tore his Achilles tendon. He re-ruptured it in Jan 2025 and missed the entire season.
He is heading into the final year of the fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million deal he signed in 2022, which is still standing as the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history, having played just 19 games across four seasons.
His 2026 cap hit sits at approximately $46 million after a March restructure. On Tuesday, as Cleveland's voluntary offseason program opened in Berea, Watson posted a TikTok of himself cruising in a GLS Maybach. As shared by MLFootball on X.
Watson's carefree TikTok lands differently given four years of disappointment in Cleveland
The timing is actually what makes this so uncomfortable to watch for the Dawg Pound. His quarterback competition opened in Berea the same day.
Shedeur Sanders, who went 3-4 as a starter in 2025, enters the spring program as the frontrunner.
Watson played only six starts in 2023 before a shoulder injury ended his season. Seven in 2024 before the Achilles gave way.
Watson did not write the contract himself
Before anyone reaches for outrage over a man enjoying a car ride, it is worth being honest about where the actual fault lies here. Watson did not hand himself $230 million. The Browns did. Owner Jimmy Haslam eventually called it "a big swing and miss," describing one of the worst financial decisions in NFL history.
This is not the first time Watson has drawn criticism for social media posts during recovery. A December 2024 TikTok of him dancing without a walking boot drew serious scrutiny after he re-ruptured his Achilles weeks later.
Berea is where Watson's future actually gets decided.