“They have a Vezina finalist (Vasilevskiy). The back-to-back Art Ross winner, who is also a Hart finalist (Kucherov). A Selke finalist (Cirelli). BriseBois expects Hedman to finish fourth or fifth in the Norris voting. In the end, the message from Julien BriseBois was a clear, emphatic one. He likes his team.”
Insider Reveals Shocking Browns Decision on Deshaun Watson
Posted September 13, 2025
The Cleveland Browns could have to make a decision on Deshaun Watson and his future with the team.
Watson is currently sidelined after he ruptured his Achilles again in January. However, he has shared videos of himself working out and looking good, which has some fans thinking he could return this season.
However, the Browns have Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders in the quarterback room, so it’s uncertain where Watson fits. But Browns insider Zac Jackson of The Athletic believes Watson playing a game for Cleveland is a possibility.
“There is a world (he plays). Do I think that’s anyone’s intention? No,” Jackson said on The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. Do I think that it’s likely at all, even if we get closer to that world? No. But there is a world. When he went on Active PUP instead of Reserve PUP, that made him eligible to play this season.
“When he went on Active PUP again on August 27, when they made all these meaves, that means that anytime after Week 4, he is eligible to return,” Jackson added. “There used to be a deadline where those guys had to be activated after a practice window; there is not anymore. It could be Christmas week, and they could activate Deshaun Watson.”
If Watson shows he is healthy, he could force the Browns’ hand to activate him, and Cleveland would then have to make a decision. But Jackson believes there is a good chance he does play a game this season for the Browns.
Watson is under contract through the 2026 NFL season as he’s in the fourth year of his five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns.
Browns GM Not Ruling Out Watson Playing
Although Cleveland entered the season with three quarterbacks, Watson could force the team to make an interesting decision.
Watson has been focusing on his rehab, and he looks to be getting closer to potentially playing. However, back in April, Browns general manager Andrew Berry wasn’t ruling out Watson playing for Cleveland this season.
“It’s too early to say,” Berry said. “I can say Deshaun has done a great job of rehabbing. He’s been in every day. He’s progressing and that’s really our focus, but it’s too early to say.”
Before the injury last season, Watson was 137-for-216 for 1,148 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.
Cleveland Owner Says Watson Trade Was a Failure
Although Berry wasn’t ruling out Watson playing for the Browns in 2025, Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam doubts he will.
The Browns made the bold move to acquire Watson in 2022 and handed him a massive extension. However, due to injuries and his poor play, the deal hasn’t worked out.
Ahead of the 2025 NFL season, Haslam spoke to at the owner’s meetings and admitted the trade was a failure.
“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” Haslam
said. “We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole. (It) was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable.”
Watson has appeared in 19 games for the Browns and has a 9-10 record.
NHL Insider Names Lightning Most Efficient Team
Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois knows how to keep a team in contention. His finishing touches on the team Steve Yzerman built have made Tampa one of the most consistently successful teams in the NHL over the last half decade. He’s been so successful, in fact, that Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic ranked the Lightning the most efficient team in terms of salary.
Luszczyszyn’s advanced analytics model takes contracts, age, term, total salary cap and past results into consideration when ranking teams.
“Now, the Lightning have exactly zero problem contracts on the books but several solid deals, and their forward core is locked in at an incredible price,” Luszczyszyn said. “Between Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel, Hagel and Cirelli, the Lightning are paying $40.8 million for $58.5 million of value.”
“That’s Tampa Bay’s superpower and it makes the Lightning one of the league’s scariest teams for the 2025-26 season and beyond.”
Depth, Value Biggest Strengths for Lightning
What makes the Lightning such a remarkably efficient team lies within their depth. “First and foremost is the electric pairing of Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli,” Luszczyszyn said. “As president of the Hagel fan club, even I would never have expected the leap he took last season into stardom, scoring 90 points. Cirelli’s own leap was also a big deal for the Lightning, giving the team two high-powered lines.”
“Both players saw their market value shoot up $3 million per year relative to last season, a huge jump that obviously added a lot of surplus value given how much term both players have left. Combined, the duo’s unexpected ascent added $40 million to Tampa Bay’s bottom line.”
Brandon Hagel’s contract, at $6.5M per season with seven years remaining, is the most efficient contract in the NHL, per Luszczyszyn. The team’s average positional value is 67%, with $107M of surplus value added from the performance of each player.
Lightning Full Steam Ahead for 2025-26
There doesn’t appear to be anything slowing down the Lightning next season.
“Erik Cernak is back to looking like a $5 million defender while Andrei Vasilevskiy proved his 2023-24 struggles were purely a result of injury,” Luszczyszyn added on. He’s still got it and is back to a $9 million valuation.Better depth (Jakob Pelletier and Pontus Holmberg) helps, too. But those are the driving forces.”
The two lowest-rated contracts on Tampa’s roster are Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde. The former’s deal ends this season, while the latter has six years left on his. This isn’t to say either player is inefficient, either. In fact, the only reason they’re ranked so low is because the rest of the roster is just that efficient. Even 35-year-old Ryan McDonagh adds value to the roster.
Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning interviewed BriseBois at the end of last season. When about the future, BriseBois was ecstatic.
