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Daniel Oyefusi, ESPNOct 21, 2024, 11:07 AM ET
- Daniel Oyefusi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. Prior to ESPN, he covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald, as well as the Baltimore Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.
An MRI revealed that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon, the team announced Monday.
Coach Kevin Stefanski had said after his team’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals on Sunday that it appeared Watson had suffered a season-ending injury.
Stefanski said Monday that Watson will have surgery this week. He was unaware of the exact type of procedure Watson would undergo.
After New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers ruptured his Achilles in the 2023 season opener, he underwent a SpeedBridge repair that allowed him to return to practice 11 weeks later. By the spring, Rodgers was cleared to practice with no restrictions.
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“We feel bad for Deshaun,” Stefanski said. “In this case, feel bad to lose him for the season. And we also know as a football team, this is where you have to step up. Guys have to step up, and that’s just how it goes.”
Stefanski did not commit to a starting quarterback for next Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. He said he was waiting to get more information on the severity of Dorian Thompson-Robinson‘s injured finger on his throwing hand.
The Browns will add a quarterback this week, but Stefanski was unsure whether it would be to the active roster or practice squad. Cleveland currently does not have a quarterback on its practice squad.
Watson suffered the injury when his leg appeared to get hyperextended on a noncontact play as he tried to carry the ball on the first snap after the two-minute warning. Watson immediately gave himself up and fell to the ground.
Shortly thereafter, a cart came onto the field and carried off an emotional Watson. The entire Browns sideline came onto the field as he was placed on the cart.
Multiple players expressed frustration postgame with fans who appeared to cheer after Watson’s injury. Watson was met with boos in pregame introductions, which were quickly drowned out by cheers for running back Nick Chubb, who made his season debut after last year’s severe knee injury.
“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 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.”
The Browns had made Jameis Winston inactive Sunday as the emergency third quarterback, so Thompson-Robinson entered the game to replace Watson and was 11-of-24 passing for 82 yards and two interceptions. He suffered a finger injury in the fourth quarter, however, and was replaced by Winston, who was 5-of-11 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown to David Njoku.
Watson has struggled this season, posting the lowest QBR of all qualified passers. He was 15-of-17 for 128 yards Sunday before the injury.
The injury ends another disappointing season for Watson, his third since the Browns traded three first-round picks and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract to bring him to Cleveland before the 2022 season.
He suffered a displaced fracture to the glenoid in his right shoulder that required him to miss the final eight games after season-ending surgery last November.
Watson, 29, has a history of serious leg injuries in college and the NFL. While at Clemson, he played through a torn ACL in his left knee. As a member of the Houston Texans, he tore the ACL in his right knee and missed the final nine games of his rookie year in 2017.
Watson will finish the third year of the five-year deal he signed upon being traded from the Texans to the Browns with just 19 cumulative starts. He served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions.
The Browns still owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons. He has a salary cap hit of $72.9 million for 2025.
