Deshaun Watson out for season after injury fears are confirmed
The Browns’ Deshaun Watson fears were officially realized Monday.
The 29-year-old quarterback will be out for the remainder of the 2024 season after an MRI exam confirmed what had already been suspected, that Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Sunday’s 21-14 home loss to the Bengals.
Watson will undergo surgery to repair his ruptured right Achilles tendon, the team said.
The non-contact injury transpired late in the first half of Sunday’s game in Cleveland and an emotional Watson was in tears as he was carted off the field.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski appeared to know the inevitable injury update was coming, telling reporters in his postgame, “Let’s get the tests to confirm, but that’s what it looks like.”
Watson, who has struggled this season, went 15-for-17 before exiting Sunday’s game.
He was relieved by Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who completed 11 of 24 attempts and threw two interceptions.
The loss dropped the Browns to 1-6 on the season.
Watson, a former first-round pick with the Texans, is in the middle of a five-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million that he signed with the Browns in 2022 when Cleveland acquired him via trade from Houston.
The polarizing signal-caller missed the first 11 games of that season after being suspended by the league following accusations of sexual misconduct by massage therapists.
Watson’s 2023 campaign was cut short last November when he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.
Since opening the 2024 season last month, Watson has thrown for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions.
He was also engrossed in a lawsuit, in which an unnamed plaintiff accused Watson of sexual assault stemming from an alleged 2020 incident. A settlement was reached earlier this month.
The Browns have had Watson’s back, with his teammates chiding fans Sunday for booing the quarterback.
“That was bulls–t. I noticed it right away,” cornerback Greg Newsome said. “No matter what you feel about a player performance-wise or not, you don’t boo a guy that’s down that can’t get up by himself. That was bulls–t. Any fan that said anything, that’s bulls–t. It’s that simple. You don’t do that. Whether the guy is playing well or not, whether you’re a fan favorite, whether you’re anything you don’t boo a guy that’s sitting down. Yeah, that’s bulls–t.”
The Browns will host their divisional rival Ravens (4-2) next Sunday.
