The Cleveland Browns are treading carefully with Deshaun Watson’s return to the field, but Jason Lloyd, a senior columnist for The Athletic, encapsulated the situation in a single word: “Weird.”
Lloyd raised some red flags around Watson’s recent “arm soreness” that kept him out of practice and tension around the team’s $230 million quarterback seeing action in the preseason.
“The whole thing is weird, the vibe around this entire camp,” Lloyd said on “The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show” on August 22. “It’s just weird. It’s the only best word to describe it. It doesn’t make sense.”
Lloyd mentioned a conversation with The Athletic’s Browns beat reporter Zac Jackson, who noted that Watson hadn’t thrown much during practice this week. It raises further questions about why Watson was limited with arm soreness during Wednesday’s practice.
“Deshaun was a little sore. I decided to just hold back a little bit with him, but not overly concerned,” Stefanski said on Wednesday.
Watson is returning from major surgery to repair a fracture to the glenoid bone in his throwing shoulder. The Browns have been playing it very safe with Watson, who has appeared in just 12 games over two seasons in Cleveland.
Deshaun Watson Surprised by Browns’ Preseason Decision
Lloyd also thinks there’s another disconnect between Watson and the Browns on his preseason availability.
“There were people in Deshaun’s camp who were making it sound like he wouldn’t play in the preseason,” Lloyd said, reflecting on his time with the Browns at their training camp in West Virginia at the Greenbrier. “And then Kevin comes out and says he’s going to play. Then Deshaun comes out and says it’s news to me. And now Kevin backtracks and says we’ll reassess as we get closer to the game. Then Deshaun just shuts it down. Yeah, it’s weird.”
Watson acknowledged he was surprised when Stefanski announced he’d play in the final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks. The statement seemed strange at the time, considering he has mostly been in lockstep with the team during his recovery.
“That was the first time I heard that, so I don’t know. But if I’m playing, that’s fine with me,” Watson said on August 15.
Stefanski has backed off a bit and has yet to decide on playing time for his starters, including Watson.
“All of our starters should expect to play,” Stefanski said on August 20. “We’ll determine who does or doesn’t, how many plays they do. Like I told you guys, in particular with Deshaun, I want to take in all the information this week and really make a final determination later in the week.”
Browns QB Deshaun Watson Returns to Full Workload
Watson’s soreness didn’t last long. The Browns’ official site reported that he returned to his normal work during Thursday’s practice, which was closed to the media.
“Deshaun Watson was limited in Wednesday’s practice with general arm soreness,” Browns reporter Kelly Russo said. “He was a fully participant on Thursday, where he resumed his throwing and took his normal full complement of reps with the first team.”
The Browns are keeping an eye on some other significant injuries. Amari Cooper and David Njoku — two of the team’s top pass-catchers — are dealing with injuries. Cooper returned to practice this week but Njoku is still out. There are also a bevy of issues on the offensive line and in the Browns’ backfield.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has told reporters that most of Seattle’s starters will see action against the Browns. Cleveland has rested most of its veterans during the first two preseason games. The Browns open the regular season on September 8 at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
