Could this be the dramatic end to Watson’s checkered career?
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the remainder of the 2024 season after tests on Monday confirmed the Browns’ fears that he sustained a torn Achilles during Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, according to a source.
Watson suffered a non-contact injury to his right Achilles after dropping back to pass during the second quarter of Sunday’s game. Watson immediately fell to his knees on the play and a slow-motion replay indicated a reverberation in his right calf. A visibly emotional and distraught Watson was later carted off the field, and the Browns ruled him out after halftime.
Multiple players expressed anger and disappointment postgame with fans who appeared to cheer after Watson’s injury. Watson was showered with boos during pregame introductions, which were quickly drowned out by cheers for running back Nick Chubb, who made his season debut after last year’s catastrophic knee injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We don’t boo guys that are injured on the field, especially when the cart comes out,” defensive end Myles Garrett said after the game. “We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall.”
Said coach Kevin Stefanski: “I don’t think it’s ever OK to cheer when someone’s injured. I’m sure it’s not every person in the building doing that, but that’s disappointing.”
Embed from Getty ImagesDorian Thompson-Robinson came on in relief of Watson but was later lost to a finger injury that is not believed to be serious, and nine-year veteran Jameis Winston, who was a former No. 1 overall pick, finished out the contest. It is still up in the air who will assume starting duties for Watson.
The Browns (1-6) face Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8.
Watson is currently in the third year of a lucrative five-year, $230 million fully-guaranteed contract he signed after he was traded from the Houston Texans to the Browns in March 2022. He is scheduled to make $92 million over the next two seasons, $46 million in 2025 and 2026.
The 29-year-old signal-caller out of Clemson University, has failed miserably to live up to the impact that Cleveland had hoped for when the team sent a bounty three first-round draft picks and two other selections to the Texans to acquire a quarterback in Watson who had made the Pro Bowl in three of his first four seasons before he sat out the entire 2021 campaign amid a trade request and allegations of sexual misconduct in massage therapy sessions.
Watson was banned for the first 11 games of the 2022 campaigned and fined a hefty $5 million for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy. In the six games following his suspension in 2022, Watson did not look like his former self, completing a career-worst 58.2 percent of his passes.
The Browns QB started just six games during an injury-plagued 2023 season that required season-ending shoulder surgery last November, and his struggles did not subside and continued into 2024.
Watson came into Sunday’s action with just five touchdown passes in six games for the Browns, who have failed to score 20 or more points in a game this season.
