In his first game back after missing the past two outings with a shoulder injury, Deshaun Watson exited in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.
The Cleveland Browns star went down after hitting his head on the turf in Indianapolis. After going into the medical tent and through the NFL concussion protocol, Watson was cleared to return. However, Cleveland opted to keep him out of the game in what ended up being a 39-38 win.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game that he simply didn’t want to see Watson hit anymore and concluded that the quarterback would start their game against the Seattle Seahawks.
As for Watson, he’s not too sure.
“I’m praying it’s not anything worse. That’s all I can do right now,” Watson told reporters.
When pressed about not coming back in the game, Watson made it clear that the decision wasn’t his.
“Of course. I want to compete, I’m a competitor,” Watson said. “I want to go out there to help the team as much as possible and go out there and play and perform and compete. The decision was best for the team and they felt that was the best and P.J. did a great job of finishing the game.”
Before he exited, Watson completed 1-of-5 passes for five yards with zero touchdowns and an interception. His injury also occurred on a play in which Watson nearly threw his second interception of the first quarter.
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Led by a dominant performance from Myles Garrett, the Browns were able to come away with another win and move to 4-2 on the season. That’s the good news. The bad news? A player in Watson who Cleveland had pegged as a franchise quarterback simply can’t stay healthy. And when he’s been on the field, the former first-round pick just hasn’t been good since the Browns traded for him.
Deshaun Watson stats (with Browns): 60% completion, 1,785 yards, 11 TD, 8 INT
Playing under a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract, Watson not only needs to stay healthy. Rather, he needs to prove himself as a capable starter. It is something we have not seen through his first 10 starts with the Browns.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, Watson also has a record $63.98 million cap hit for next season. Regardless of what happens moving forward, the Browns are seemingly stuck with him.