Vincent Frank
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is once again slated to miss action as the embattled signal caller deals with what has been a long-term shoulder injury.
Watson returned from a two-game absence last week against the Indianapolis Colts, only to exit the game in the first quarter after taking a hard hit.
Initially, the high-priced signal caller was checked for a concussion. But once he passed through the tests and was cleared, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski opted to keep Watson on the bench. It led to further speculation regarding his injury.
It was on Tuesday that Cleveland ruled Watson out for this week’s matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. One day later, and he talked with the media about the aforementioned injury. Watson told reporters that there is no timeline for his return from what is being described as a rotator cuff strain. He also expanded on how his throwing arm felt leading up to a brief return last week and whether he felt he rushed to come back.
“(I) felt during the week that I had the opportunity to play right at that kind of three weeks-four week mark and I just didn’t have the strength and things like that to be able to go out there and play a full complete game,” Watson told reporters.
This injury situation has made league-wide headlines in that Cleveland initially downplayed the injury as a shoulder bruise after Watson suffered it in a Sept. 24 game against the Tennessee Titans. Now, more than a month later, and he’s on the shelf for the foreseeable future.
Watson is — and will continue to be — under a microscope due to his fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract and the fact that he has struggled (11 TD, 8 INT) in 10 starts with the Browns since they acquired him in a blockbuster trade ahead of last season. Add in well-known off-field issues, and that’s magnified further.
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As for the narrative that he somehow doesn’t want to play, Watson also pushed back against that in a big way when talking to the media on Thursday. “Why wouldn’t I want to play? I worked my a** off for two years to come back,” the much-maligned quarterback said.
This narrative does seem to be ridiculous on the surface. Shoulder injuries like the one Watson is dealing with right now are nothing to sneeze at. They can lead to long-term ramifications and derail a career.
- Deshaun Watson stats (2023): 62% completion, 683 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
Back in March of 2017, Cam Newton underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ratator cuff in his throwing shoulder. That came less than two years after he earned the NFL MVP and led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl. In the five seasons that he played in the NFL since, Newton threw 58 touchdowns compared to 45 interceptions. He’s currently out of the league despite openly displaying a willingness to play.
As for the Browns, they have a long-term commitment to Watson. It makes no sense to rush him back from this injury given everything we mentioned above.
