Professor Kevin Stefanski later mentioned that his team’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals on Sunday gave the impression that Watson had suffered a season-ending shock.
Stefanski said Monday that Watson will undergo surgery this month. He was once blind to the precise shape of the process that Watson would go through.
The Fresh York Jets’ closest quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, tore his Achilles tendon in the first game of the 2023 season, underwent a SpeedBridge repair that allowed him to return to training 11 weeks later. During the spring, Rodgers was cleared to practice without restrictions.
“We feel bad for Deshaun,” Stefanski said. “In this case, I feel bad about losing him for this season. And we also know that, as a football team, this is where you have to step up. The guys have to step up, and that’s it. how it works.”
Stefanski did not choose a starting quarterback for next Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. He said he was ready to get additional information about the severity of Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s finger injury on his throwing hand.
The Browns will add a quarterback this month, but Stefanski wasn’t sure if he will be on the active roster or the watch team. Cleveland currently does not have a quarterback on its practice squad.
Watson suffered shock when his leg appeared to hyperextend in a non-contact game while trying to hold the ball on the first snap after the two-minute blackmail. Watson instantly surrendered and fell to the farmland.
Shortly after, a car reached the ground and took away an excited Watson. The entire Browns sideline fell to the ground as he was positioned on the cart.
More than one player expressed frustration after the game with fans who appeared to applaud after Watson’s surprise. Watson was greeted with boos in the pregame introductions, which were temporarily drowned out by Nick Chubb, who made his season debut later with a serious knee concussion last year.
“We don’t boo guys who are hurt on the field, especially when the cart comes out,” defensive end Myles Garrett mentioned later in the game. “We should be ashamed as Browns and as fans for booing anyone and their downfall.”
Stefanski mentioned, “I don’t think it’s okay to cheer when someone is hurt. I’m sure not everyone in the building does that, but it’s disappointing.”
The Browns had slacked off Jameis Winston on Sunday as an emergency third quarterback, so Thompson-Robinson entered the game to replace Watson and completed 11 of 24 passes for 82 yards and two interceptions. However, he suffered a bruised finger in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Winston, who completed 5 of 11 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown to David Njoku.
Watson has struggled this season, posting the last QBR of all certified passers. He was 15 of 17 for 128 yards Sunday before the shock.
The upset caps another disappointing season for Watson, his third since the Browns traded three first-round picks and gave him a fully assured $230 million guarantee to bring him to Cleveland ahead of the 2022 season.
He suffered a displaced fissure in the glenoid of his right shoulder that forced him to sit out eight games after season-ending surgery last November.
Watson, 29, has a history of significant leg injuries in school and in the NFL. Beyond Clemson, he played with a torn ACL in his left knee. As a member of the Houston Texans, he tore the ACL in his right knee and missed all nine games of his rookie year in 2017.
Watson will finish the third year of his five-year contract when he signed when he was traded from the Texans to the Browns with just 19 accumulated starts. He served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two women in a group accused him of sexual assault and absurd habits during massage classes.
The Browns still owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons. He has a cap hit of $72.9 million for 2025.
