Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will have shoulder surgery to conclude the season.
Deshaun Watson, the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, had his most encouraging game in his two seasons there, but the hope was short-lived. The team stated on Wednesday that Watson will have season-ending shoulder surgery to fix a fracture that an MRI test found.
Three days before to the revelation, Watson had completed all 14 of his throws in the second half as the Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 33-31, on a field goal with three seconds remaining in the game, after trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter. It was Watson’s most successful performance since the Browns signed him to a five-year contract with a guaranteed $230 million in March 2022 after trading for him in the midst of sexual misconduct claims filed against him in legal litigation.
At a press conference on Wednesday at the Browns’ training facility in Berea, Ohio, Watson stated, “I’m still in disbelief.” “I’m simply attempting to make sense of everything that has been coming in to me since [Tuesday] evening. It’s difficult. We seemed to be turning the corner to actually have a chance. And with the men in this locker room, I still think we will. All I wanted was to be on that field with those men, physically involved.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will start Sunday’s game at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, not PJ Walker. Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round draft choice out of UCLA, has made one start this season.
Watson and Stefanski said Sunday that Watson had finished the game in Baltimore despite suffering an ankle injury late in the first half and that there had been no doubts Watson could finish the game. Watson vowed to be ready to play this weekend against the Steelers. An MRI exam of Watson’s left ankle taken Monday showed he had suffered a high ankle sprain, the Browns announced Wednesday.
In a statement posted to social media Wednesday, the Browns said that following Sunday’s game, Watson “notified our medical staff of a new discomfort in his right shoulder that he felt after a hit in the first half.” According to the team, the MRI exam taken Monday of Watson’s shoulder showed a displaced fracture to the glenoid, the socket of the ball-and-socket shoulder joint. The decision that surgery is necessary was made in consultation with team physician James Voos and orthopedic specialist Neal ElAttrache, the Browns said.
“Despite [Watson] performing at a high level and finishing the game … it has been determined that this injury will require immediate surgical repair to avoid further structural damage,” the team wrote in its statement. “Deshaun will be placed on season-ending injured reserve and a full recovery is expected for the start of the 2024 season.”
Neither Watson nor Stefanski mentioned following Sunday’s game that Watson had experienced renewed shoulder issues. He was playing his second game since returning from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss three full games and most of another.
