Buffalo Bills could face Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson in Week 16

The Buffalo Bills may have found themselves in a bit of opposing quarterback roulette for the month of December. Quarterback Joe Burrow has now returned to action with the Cincinnati Bengals, having knocked the rust off in Week 13 against the Baltimore Ravens. That means instead of preparing for veteran backup quarterback Joe Flacco, Buffalo will get set to face off against the talented Burrow.

In Week 18, Buffalo closes out its storied history at the original Highmark Stadium with a season-ending home tilt against the New York Jets. With that also comes uncertainty who Buffalo will face among quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor and Justin Fields.

But long before that the Bills will play the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. With the continued uncertainty surrounding everyone other than edge rusher Myles Garrett with the Browns this season, it’s become a who’s who at quarterback in 2025. In fact, there’s now little clue about who will be the starting quarterback by the time December 21 rolls around.

Early on this season, many thought it would be rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel who took over the job from since-traded Joe Flacco. However, Gabriel suffered an injury and, for the past couple weeks at least, Cleveland has turned to their other rookie quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. Now, there could be yet another option for which the Bills may need to prepare.

On Wednesday, December 3, the Browns designated embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson for return to practice. Perhaps you’ve forgotten about him, but he’s the same Watson that Cleveland traded for and gave the first fully guaranteed deal in NFL history. Watson hasn’t played in a game since October 20, 2024 when he suffered a torn Achilles. He then suffered a setback in that recovery during the offseason and has not appeared since.

The timing of this is certainly interesting. What good would it do the Browns to announce this if the team wasn’t preparing to play him. Since being traded, Watson has a 9-10 record as a starter with the Browns. He clearly hasn’t looked like the same quarterback the Houston Texans drafted, at least not since his legal scandal consumed his career, ultimately ending with him being suspended by the league.

Perhaps the Browns want to get him on the field to show other NFL teams that he still has something left in the tank. That is, should Cleveland hope to make a trade during the offseason. Regardless, the Bills may potentially have to prepare for any one of the three between Gabriel, Sanders, and Watson in Week 16.