Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson has not played a football game in nine months, and he may make it 10. While head coach Kevin Stefanski previously said he expects his starters to play in the final preseason game, he has not yet made a decision about his starting quarterback.
Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last year and last played in November. He has taken things slowly throughout the offseason but generally has been less limited in training camp. Even so, Stefanski held him out of the first two games, and now he is experiencing arm soreness.
The Browns started the day with their usual routine, but they eventually pulled Watson due to soreness. “I decided to just hold back a little bit with him, but not overly concerned”, Stefanski said, via the team’s website. “I’d say general arm soreness. But again, he practiced, I held him back. He could have gone, he’s feeling fine”.
But the Browns have a game to play on Saturday, and it’s hard to see them playing Deshaun Watson if he doesn’t practice today. Stefanski said this isn’t the first time Watson experienced arm soreness. “I mean, you’re a quarterback, you’re throwing a lot, so you get sore”, he said, adding that he isn’t ruling him out for the final preseason game.
Playing just six games last season, Deshaun Watson completed 105-of-171 passes for 1,115 yards. He threw seven touchdowns to four interceptions, and the Browns went 5-1 in the games he started. As I enjoy reminding, the Steelers handed him his only loss, the defense scoring 14 points off his giveaways. It also marked the only game in Kenny Pickett’s career in which he won while the opposing team scored 20-plus points. Good times.
Watson is entering his third season with the Browns since they acquired him via trade from the Houston Texans. We have discussed the king’s ransom they gave up for him ad infinitum at this point, but suffice it to say they haven’t gotten their return on investment yet.
Since the trade, Watson has missed 22 games, 11 due to suspension and 11 due to injury. The Browns managed to make the postseason with Joe Flacco last season, but now they have Jameis Winston. Winston hasn’t played much so far, going 4-of-5 in the preseason for 30 yards. They have primarily played Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the legendary former Ravens Pro Bowler, Tyler Huntley.
Deshaun Watson’s career hasn’t turned out the way he envisioned, surely, over the last three years. During that time, he faced dozens of sexual misconduct allegations, resulting in an 11-game suspension. He has hardly played much football in years. This season, he is “blocking out all the bullshit”, though, so we’ll see how that goes for him. If he can avoid IR.
