Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has been rehabbing after retearing his right Achilles tendon -- a diagnosis that could sideline him for most, if not all, of the 2025 season.
But he seemingly had a message for anyone questioning if he'll be able to return from the latest setback in his career.
In a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, which documents his rehab at the Browns' practice facility, Watson said, "Everyone's doubting me. Everyone don't believe in me. Everyone don't think that I can get back to where I was. But I know and I believe the work that I put in, what I believe in myself. The peace that I've been channeling these last couple months, I know I'm going to be way better than before."
The comments come a week after Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam's admission at the NFL's annual meeting that his team's trade for Watson in March 2022 was a "big swing-and-miss." The Browns traded three first-round picks to the Houston Texans for Watson and gave him a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract, which was at the time a league record for guarantees.
"We thought we had the quarterback; we didn't," Haslam said. "And we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him, so we've got to dig ourselves out of that hole."
The Browns have not provided a return timeline for Watson, who turns 30 in September. He initially ruptured his Achilles in October and then had a second operation in January after retearing his Achilles when he rolled his ankle, according to the team.
"[Watson is] doing a great job with rehab," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said at the league meeting. "He's in there every single day working very hard, but he's where he is supposed to be in the rehab and then we'll just kind of take that one day by day."
The Browns still owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons and have $173 million in cap hits remaining on his contract.
Injuries and suspension -- Watson served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions -- have limited him to just 19 starts as a member of the Browns. Watson's 34.2 Total QBR since making his debut in Cleveland would be second worst to the Tennessee Titans' Will Levis if he had enough starts to qualify.