Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson spoke to the media Wednesday to give his perspective on the news he’d undergo season-ending surgery to repair a fracture in his throwing shoulder.
He explained his mindset following the diagnosis, when he thought the injury occurred and how long he believed he’d need to fully recover for the 2024 season.
“I’m still in disbelief. I’m still trying to process all the information,” Watson said Wednesday. “I felt like we were turning a corner to really make a run and still believe we still will with the guys in this locker room. I just wanted to physically be a part of it. … It’s tough to try to wrap everything around my head right now.”
Watson won’t play for the rest of the season and the Browns will turn to another quarterback to take his place under center. For now, it’s fifth-round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Here are five takeaways from Watson’s post-injury news press conference.
Injury likely occurred in first half
It’s unclear when or exactly what play Watson injured his shoulder, but the quarterback said he “felt something” at the end of the first quarter. The Browns said in a statement Watson suffered two injuries on two different plays but remained in for most of the game.
“I kind of recognized something was wrong, but during the midst of the game, I was just pushing through whatever I was feeling,” Watson said. “And then after the game and Monday and Tuesday, we got testing done, and that’s when I found out from the doctors that it was something worse than what we thought it was.
“It’s very painful. The whole second half was painful to throw the football. It’s a bone that’s fractured in my shoulder, so no type of medicine or anything is going to stop the pain from that. But it’s just frustrating all around, just not being able to play and just the injuries, but I can’t control certain injuries.”
Watson took several big hits against the Ravens, but he even said he isn’t sure which play was the one that caused the fracture.
“I have no idea. I’m not even sure. We’ve been trying to figure that out, too, the last couple of days, and it could have been any one of those hits at the time. Like I said, I was, of course, feeling something, but in the midst of a game and with everything going on, I was just trying to lock in on the next play to try to get the victory.”
Watson's recovery timetable unclear
While Watson is expected to return fully healthy in 2024, he has a decently-long road to recovery. He said the recovery will take “a couple of months” and he won’t be able to practice throwing until, if everything goes well, “two months, three months” after his surgery.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a couple of months. And the biggest thing is mobility and just the range of motion and then the strength and stuff will work out,” Watson said. “But I’m going to be working with some great doctors and great staff that dealt with this process before with a lot of professional baseball guys and make sure that I come back even better than before.”
The official diagnosis, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, is a a displaced fracture in his right (throwing) glenoid in his shoulder. Medical professionals were reportedly “shocked” he played through the injury.
A 2018 article in the National Institutes of Health found athletes recovered in 2.5 months, which is similar to the timetable Watson gave reporters.
Watson tried to play through despite diagnosis
Watson played more than half of Week 10 with this injury and said he tried to remain off injured reserve even after doctors suggested immediate surgery.
“I pushed very hard for it to the point where all the experts and doctors were the ones that told me that there was no chance,” he said. “So, I pushed as far as I possibly could to get back out there and just try to play and try to push it towards after the season. But I think the best situation for, I guess, longevity in my career is to be able to get immediate surgery, and that’s what all the experts said. So, I got to follow their footsteps and go from there.”
This would have, coincidentally, mirrored what former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield did in 2021 after he suffered a tear in his non-throwing shoulder. Mayfield finished out the season despite the injury and underwent offseason surgery, but the ailment severely hampered his production. The Browns traded him to the Carolina Panthers that summer after Cleveland acquired Watson.
Watson credits his mentality for second half performance despite injuries
Believe it or not, Watson actually had a better second half than first half playing with a broken shoulder and a high ankle sprain. He completed all 14 of his passes and led three second-half scoring drives – including the game-winning field goal drive at the end of the contest.
Watson said his desire to win drove him in the second half despite his multiple injuries.
“I just want to win. That’s all I was focused on is just winning,” Watson said. “I didn’t care how we did it. Whatever we need to do to turn that game around and to win and leave everything out there on the field, and that’s what I was focused on.”
Watson planned to play Week 11 with high ankle sprain
Watson left Week 10 in a walking boot but believed he’d be healthy enough to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11. His doctor’s appointment was to check on both his ankle and his shoulder, which he said he expected would both be OK for the Browns’ next game.
“That was my mindset,” Watson said. “I said coming in, ‘Look at the shoulder.’ Shoulder will be fine, dealing with whatever we’re dealing with, and then make sure we focus on the ankle enough so I can go out there and perform. But it took a different turn in the process.”
Quite the series of unfortunate events.
