The situation in the Browns‘ QB room is messy. With the addition of Tyler Huntley, they now have five quarterbacks. Wait! Actually. They have six. Let us not forget that Deshaun Watson is still on the team and recovering from his Achilles injury. He is on the PUP list, busy rehabbing, and while there is no set timeline for his return, what happens once he is back?

Initially, it was assumed that he would miss major parts of the 2025 season, but whispers around him now suggest that he might return in time to play for Cleveland. The murmurs grew louder after he posted a video of himself running last week… And so, exploring future possibilities within the team, Nick Pedrone and Daryl Ruiter, who were on ‘92.3 The Fan,’ had some opinions to share.

Pedrone mentioned: “At some point, whether it is October, whether it is early November, he [Watson] is gonna get cleared… And when you’re cleared, you got two options: you either activate him or you cut him. I don’t think they are cutting him because of the cap space. So they are gonna have to activate him.

“And then, you are gonna have five [QBs] under active? At some point, things are gonna get interesting with this whole thing. And it’s not that we want to see Deshaun, it’s not that they want to see Deshaun, it’s none of that.”

Ruiter agreed and added, “They are just procedures they have to follow.”

So, what could the Browns do? Let us explore.

Scenario 1: They could stash him on the PUP list for the whole season. However, the team would still owe him money regardless of whether he is on their roster or not. The team would qualify for maximum insurance coverage and, later, cap relief if Watson can’t play.

Scenario 2: If Watson can play, Cleveland will either have to move him to their roster or release him. If they choose to cut him, it would end up in a huge 2026 cap charge of $131.161 million, though they would absorb the amount later.

The best scenario for the team would be to get Watson to stay on the PUP list. But that seems tough, too. After all, earlier this year, Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam told the media that getting Watson was a “big swing and a miss.” If anything, the quarterback is motivated to prove Haslam wrong.

Regardless, it seems like that is something the Browns and HC Kevin Stefanski will deal with when the time comes. For now, they are focused on other pressing matters in the QB room.

Kevin Stefanski is close to announcing the QB for the Browns

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Kevin Stefanski wants to leverage the preseason finale as a “dress rehearsal” for Week 1, so much so that he plans to name his starter before that final tune-up. Stefanski added clarity this week on the timeline for naming his Week 1 starter. He said, “We will name a starter. It’s going to come this week… We still anticipate all of our players, whether you’re a starter or not, to prepare like you’re the starter. Knowing all of our players in that room, that’s exactly what they’ll do.”

By exposing the starter early, Kevin Stefanski can rehearse Week 1 in game-like situations, giving his offense a valuable full-pace rehearsal. The decision will reveal whether he leans on Joe Flacco’s veteran experience, chooses Kenny Pickett, or either of his rookies. However, as the official announcement inches closer, Coach Stefanski has shared that he is happy with his quarterbacks and how they have performed so far.

All in all, the Browns have engineered one of the most fascinating quarterback sagas of the preseason: a four-way fight complicated by Deshaun Watson’s looming activation and a coach determined to make his choice with game film in hand. Now that Stefanski’s timeline is set, the only question left is: who’ll emerge as Cleveland’s Week 1 signal-caller?