Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was carted off the field just before the half against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Watson suffered a non-contact injury after planting his right leg and immediately collapsing to the turf. A cart was brought out for him, and players from both teams gathered on the field to show their support. Watson, visibly emotional, was taken back to the locker room.
“I have no update just yet. It didn’t look good. I feel very badly for him,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said during his halftime interview with Aditi Kinkhabwala. “We’ll see what they say when we get some tests.”
Shortly after Stefanski’s interview, the Browns officially announced that Watson had suffered an Achilles injury. Prior to the injury against the Bengals, Watson had gone 15 of 17 for 128 yards for a 98.0 rating.
The Achilles injury is likely season-ending and could potentially be career-ending for Watson.
Deshaun Watson Under Contract Through 2026
The injury could be the beginning of the end for Watson in Cleveland. The Browns sent three first-round picks (2022, 2023, and 2024), a third-round pick in 2023, and fourth-round picks in 2022 and 2024 to the Houston Texans in exchange for Watson in 2022.
The Browns committed to Watson with a fully guaranteed $230 million contract that runs through the 2026 season. However, Watson has only appeared in 19 games over his three seasons in Cleveland. He missed 11 games in 2022 due to a suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and last season, a shoulder injury limited him to just six games and required surgery.
With Watson sidelined, the Browns can rethink their long-term quarterback strategy. Cutting ties with Watson is unlikely due to the substantial cap penalties they would face. However, if they did consider such a move, Watson finding another team to continue his career would be a major challenge, as noted by Mike Sando of The Athletic.
“They could cut him tomorrow and no one would pick him up,” an NFL exec told Sando. “I would not want that toxicity to have anything to do with my team build.”
Browns Roll With Dorian Thompson-Robinson at QB
The Browns changed their depth chart prior to Sunday’s game, demoting veteran Jameis Winston and bumping Dorian Thompson-Robinson into the No. 2 spot.
“The plan doesn’t change much,” Stefanski said during his halftime interview with Kinkhabwala. “(Thompson-Robinson) is always prepared, as he’s the backup. Felt like it was the right decision to make for this game.”
The Browns have expressed great confidence in Thompson-Robinson. Cleveland selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. As a rookie, Thompson-Robinson quickly earned the trust of the decision-makers in Cleveland and was named the backup to Watson at the start of the year.
Thompson-Robinson got some starting experience as a rookie with Watson banged up. But things didn’t go so smoothly when his number was called. The fifth-round pick went 1-2 in his starts, passing for 440 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions.
Stefanski was clear that the quarterback plan could change moving forward. But Cleveland has some significant work to do after the miserable start to the season.
