The Cleveland Browns got a huge win last weekend against the Baltimore Ravens, pushing them to 6-3 and squarely in position to contend for the AFC North crown. However, that win came with a major loss as QB Deshaun Watson suffered a broken bone in his shoulder, requiring season-ending surgery to repair it. Watson underwent two MRIs on Monday with one revealing a high ankle sprain while the other revealed a fracture in his shoulder.
Even after finding out that his had a fracture in his shoulder, Watson didn’t want to call it quits on the season. According to NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano, Watson told the media that he pushed really hard to play through the injury, even though doctors and medical expects said he had no chance of doing so at an effective level.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network added that Watson could have suffered serious long-term repercussions to his shoulder had he tried taking pain-relieving injections with the intent to play, putting to rest any idea of keeping his 2023 season alive. Watson spoke to the media Wednesday after finding out the news, being visibly downcast that a promising season is now over for him with his team squarely in the playoff race.
“It’s very tough,” Watson said to the media on Wednesday on video from Scott Petrak’s Twitter page. “Hurt about it, but I’m going to make sure to keep my head above water and make sure I stay in touch with all the guys and support them as much as I possibly can and attack this rehab process after surgery and make sure that I do whatever I can to be beneficial to this team while not actually being on the field with them while also prepping for the next year.”
Watson’s Cleveland tenure has been rocky ever since he got traded from the Houston Texans. The Browns gave up a haul to acquire the three-time Pro Bowler, even after facing all the accusations and legal trouble involving alleged sexual assault cases, which landed him an 11-game suspension to start his Browns tenure. He went 3-3 as a starter last season in Cleveland, completing just 58.3% of his passes for 1,102 yards and seven touchdowns to five interceptions. Watson was 5-1 as the starter in 2023 with his only loss coming to the Steelers in Week Two. Still, Watson has looked shaky to say the least, throwing for just 1,114 yards and seven touchdowns to four interceptions while adding 142 rushing yards and a score.
Watson will have to wait to 2024 to take the field for Cleveland once again, looking to prove that that massive trade of draft picks as well as the fully guaranteed contract Cleveland gave him was worth it in the Browns’ pursuit of a Super Bowl. The results have been far from what Browns fans have been hoping for thus far, and Watson will have to prove the next time he takes the field that Cleveland’s trade for him doesn’t follow the trend of bad decisions that have snakebitten this franchise for the last few decades.
