Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson during a game against the Washington Commanders, in Landover, Md., on Oct. 6.Nick Wass/The Associated Press
Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and an MRI on Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery this week and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
Watson’s injury is a blow to the Browns (1-6), who have lost five straight in a season that began with massive expectations after the team made the playoffs last year.
The short-term implications are that either Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston will take over as starter.
But Thompson-Robinson injured a finger on his throwing hand after replacing Watson on Sunday, and coach Kevin Stefanski was waiting to find out if the second-year QB can play this week against Baltimore.
In the long term, Watson’s injury, along with the fact that he wasn’t playing close to what the Browns expected when they signed him to a $230 million contract two years ago, could lead to them taking a quarterback high in next year’s draft.
Stefanski, who stuck with Watson this season despite his struggles, was asked if he will come back as Cleveland’s starter.
“Obviously I believe in Deshaun,” he said on a Zoom call. “But I also think it’s important just to acknowledge that he just had a bad injury and bad break for him. We’re feeling bad for him and know that he’ll bounce back but not getting into all those things down the road.”
Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke a bone in his throwing shoulder last year. Watson also had surgeries on both knees after tearing ligaments while at Clemson and playing for Houston.
The 29-year-old, who got booed during pregame introductions, went down Sunday without being touched. As he took off on a draw play, his right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year. Rodgers underwent a “speed bridge” surgery to speed up his recovery and enable him to practice within three months.
Stefanski did not know what kind of procedure Watson will undergo.
His injury triggered an ugly reaction from some fans.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and Thompson-Robinson begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behaviour.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.”
On Monday, Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward, who is from Cleveland, said the misplaced passion was disappointing.
“Everyone has to be better than that,” he said. “Regardless of what you may think of a person or what someone’s been through or whatever the situation may be, that doesn’t make it right or make it any better for you to kick a man when he’s down.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to the Texans two years ago to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations – fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season – and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labelled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions in Texas. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff – he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute – led to subpar play, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, came out of semi-retirement, went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better and was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and may have to search anew for a franchise QB.