NEWSLETTER
That’s all she wrote for Deshaun Watson’s 2023 season. The Cleveland Browns announced this morning that Watson’s lingering injury to his throwing shoulder was aggravated during Sunday’s first half of the Browns’ victory over the Ravens.
After consulting with team physician James Voos and industry-leading shoulder specialist Dr. Neal ELAttrache determined that Watson required immediate surgery on the shoulder to prevent further structural damage after an MRI revealed a displaced fracture to the glenoid in Watson’s throwing shoulder.
Despite reports that Watson was campaigning to be injected to play through the pain as Cleveland pushes for the postseason, his time with the Browns has been a massive disappointment. Watson has played 12 games for Cleveland over two seasons.
In those 12 games, Watson has thrown for 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He’s been sacked 37 times and owns an 81.7 passer rating. The Browns have paid him $91.36 million since he signed his fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
The Deshaun Watson deal, the trade … that’s a conversation for another day. Today, the question is, where do the Browns go next?
As of this morning, P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson are the two healthy quarterbacks on the roster. Neither has played very well this season. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson got the first crack at starting in place of Watson earlier this season and was awful in his first NFL start against the Ravens.
When Watson missed more time with that shoulder injury, veteran backup P.J. Walker was inserted into the lineup. Walker hasn’t been much better.
Walker is 1-1 as the starter this season, with one touchdown and five interceptions over 98 passing attempts. In short, neither Walker nor DTR are ideal options for Cleveland over the season’s final two months, especially since they’re fighting for a playoff berth.
The timing of Watson’s season-ending surgery couldn’t have been worse. But with the trade deadline passed, their options are limited. The Browns had conversations with the Arizona Cardinals about re-acquiring Josh Dobbs before the deadline, but that didn’t pan out. Dobbs ended up in Minnesota, where he’s been the talk of the town for the last two weeks.
The list of available free-agent QBs isn’t promising either. Carson Wentz signed with the Los Angeles Rams last week, leaving the list of options thin. Unless the Browns can convince Matt Ryan to trade his CBS jacket for a Browns jersey, Colt McCoy is the best available quarterback on the open market.
McCoy spent his first three seasons in the NFL with the Browns after they selected him in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Texas. McCoy spent the last two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. In four starts in 2022, McCoy completed 68 percent of his passes and threw for 780 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. In 2021, McCoy threw for 740 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception while completing 74.7 percent of his passes across parts of eight games for the Browns.
I’m not saying that Colt McCoy will have the Josh Dobbs effect in Cleveland, but it’s worth bringing him in to add some depth to the quarterback room with Watson done for the season. The rest of that list just doesn’t make much sense for Cleveland, or anyone else for that matter.
The Browns’ playoff hopes have taken a significant hit with the Deshaun Watson news this morning
Cleveland is 6-3 and sitting in the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture, entering Week 11 in a crowded AFC North. Watson’s former team, the Houston Texans are one game behind the Browns and in the final wild card spot right now.
The Bengals (5-4), Colts (5-5), Bills (5-5), and Raiders (5-5) are all one win behind the Browns and on the bubble in the AFC playoff picture.
Here’s what the Browns remaining schedule looks like:
The Browns could realistically split the front half of their remaining schedule, leaving them at 8-5 heading into their matchup with the Bears on December 17. The Bears are a beatable team, so in an absolute best-case scenario, the Browns could be 9-5 when they visit the Houston Texans on Christmas Eve.
But those last three games all look like losses, which would have them finishing the season 9-8. Again, that’s in a best-case scenario where they win three of five before that final trio of games against the Texans, Jets, and Bengals.
I’m not sure 9-8 gets you into the playoffs in the AFC this year. And the margin for error for Cleveland is absolutely zero right now.
