NEWSLETTER
Deshaun Watson was blooming into a star for the Houston Texans, before getting injured earlier today.
The rookie quarterback from Clemson had thrown a league-leading 19 touchdowns in seven games, posting a 103.0 passer rating while guiding the Texans to a 3-3 record that kept them in the hunt for an AFC South title.
But those championship dreams took a significant hit on Thursday amid reports of Watson suffering a torn ACL in a non-contact drill at practice:
#Texans QB Deshaun Watson was added to the injury report today with a knee injury. He was limited.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 2, 2017
Sources: #Texans QB fear Deshaun Watson suffered a torn ACL in practice today. A non-contact injury. MRI coming to confirm. Awful, awful.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 2, 2017
Potentially heading for a rookie of the year campaign, #Texans QB Deshaun Watson now faces the prospect of being out for the season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 2, 2017
Watson was the third quarterback selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, but has played like the draft’s best prospect. Even though Watson was picked after Mitch Trubisky (Chicago Bears, 2nd overall) and Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs, 10th overall), he has out-played every other member of his rookie class so far. Watson was a clear-cut front runner for NFL Rookie of the Year, and was making an outside push for league MVP honors if he kept at his current pace.
Watson had strung together four consecutive games with a passer rating of 100 or better, culminating with a 402-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Seattle Seahawks on the road. It’s not often you see a quarterback post a 106.9 rating against the Seahawks pass defense, but to see a rookie do it was quite impressive. Watson’s presence turned a boring, run-based Texans offense into the league’s highest scoring unit. Unfortunately, his knee injury could put that to an end and keep him out until the 2018 season.
