The biggest elephant in the room inside the Cleveland Browns practice facility has finally been addressed. 

After spending the first 13 weeks of the season on the physically unable to perform list, veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson was officially activated by the team to return to practice this week. The team announced the news on Wednesday ahead of a Week 14 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. 

Head coach Kevin Stefanski explained the move prior to practice.

"He'll be out there today, which is outstanding for Deshaun," he said. "He's been working so hard, rehabbing, so finally to get out there on the practice field with his teammates, go through individual I think is really great for him. So excited for him. His focus, my focus is obviously getting him back to playing football, practicing football, which he hasn't done in over a year, so it's good next step for him."

Watson has been quietly recovering from a ruptured Achilles injury that he suffered in Week 7 of last season. After initially having surgery to repair the ailment, he actually retore it near the end of 2024 season and had to have surgery a second time, which turned into an extended absence from the field this fall. 

Stefanski had largely avoided the subject of activating Watson in recent weeks, since the window to active him off the PUP list first opened up following the first four games of the season. In the meantime, Watson had been documenting his recovery through numerous videos on social media, which showed him working behind the scenes at the Browns facility. 

Now, he's been officially cleared by team doctors, as Stefanski revealed, to at least return to practice. Cleveland's head man balked, however, at answering whether or not he could be cleared to play in games before the end of the season. 

"Really not my focus, not his focus right this minute," stated Stefanski. "His focus is putting a helmet on again for the first time. Shoulder pads, throwing a football...I want to point out he's worked really, really hard to rehab from this. He's done everything that's asked of him, so he's been so supportive in the meeting room on the game field with the players. Now he gets to go do that on the practice field." 

Time will tell if Watson will get a chance to play over the final five games of the 2025 campaign. Earlier in the offseason, team owner Jimmy Haslam called Cleveland's blockbuster deal to land the former Texans signal caller a big "swing and a miss." 

The comments seemed to hint at the fact that the Browns may be ready to move on from the embattled QB as soon as possible. If he plays before the season concludes though, and shows any positive progress, it could make the team consider trying to salvage the situation with two years remaining on his deal. 

In his first three seasons with the Browns, Watson has completed 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His time in Cleveland has also been plagued by season-ending injuries. Prior to the Achilles tear, he suffered a season-ending shoulder fracture in 2023.