Once again, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s season has been cut short.
An MRI revealed that Watson has ruptured his right Achilles tendon, the team announced Monday. He will miss the rest of the season, and a full recovery is expected, the team said.
Watson suffered the injury during the Browns’ 21-14 loss at home against the Cincinnati Bengals, going down in the second quarter during a carry in what was a non-contact play. While Watson was on the ground, cheers could be heard from the crowd – which Browns players after the game acknowledged that they heard – at Huntington Bank Field.
An emotional Watson was carted off the field as the Browns would go on to fall to 1-6 on the season.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson came in to replace Watson, but he too didn’t finish the game, suffering a finger injury in the fourth quarter after going 11-of-24 passing for 82 yards and two interceptions.
Jameis Winston, who had been made inactive as the emergency third-string quarterback ahead of the Browns’ game against the Bengals, finished the game for Cleveland. He was 5-of-11 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Watson, 29, is in his third season with the Browns. He has yet to play a full season for Cleveland, and the Browns are 9-10 when he has been their starting quarterback.
The Browns acquired Watson in March 2022, trading three first-round picks as part of the deal, and went on to give him a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
Watson, who has been named in dozens of civil lawsuits on behalf of women alleging the quarterback sexually harassed or assaulted them, was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy when he was with the Houston Texans.
In 2023, Watson’s season was cut short because of a shoulder injury.
Members of the Browns did not take kindly to the reaction they heard within the crowd of Watson’s injury Sunday.
“It was harder with the reaction that the fans gave,” Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said Sunday to reporters. “Whether it’s an opponent that goes down or one of our own, we don’t boo. We don’t boo the guys that are injured on the field, especially with the extent where the cart comes out.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. Could be a season altering, career altering injury.
“Man is not perfect; he doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones from my glass house.
“But we need to do better, we need to do better on the football field, and we need to do better as fans for having some empathy for a man who’s doing the best he can and did the best he can up to this point. We have to better.”
“I don’t think it’s ever OK to cheer when someone’s injured,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Sunday. “I’m sure it’s not every person in that building doing that, but that’s disappointing.”
On Sunday, Winston gave a lengthy and passionate statement in defense of Watson.
“The way I was raised, I was taught to love, no matter the circumstances. Especially for people who do right by you,” Winston said. “I’m grateful that I had a chance to serve Deshaun, but I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years.
“And he put his body and life on the line for this city, every single day. Regardless of your perception, regardless of what you thought should happen with him, he committed every single day that I’ve been here to be the best that he can be for this team.
“And I know, I come from the deep south. Birmingham, Alabama. Bessemer, Alabama. So I know the standard that hungry fans want. But the way I was raised, I would never, I would never pull on a man when he is down. But I will be the person to lift him up.
“All of us have unique experiences, all of us have circumstances, conditions and facts that we face every single day, and I pride myself in being a man of increase, and being a man that wants the best out of everybody. I tell myself every morning, what I want for myself, I want for everyone.
“And I do not want the treatment that Deshaun Watson has received from these passionate fans. I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans. But Deshaun was treated badly, and now he has to overcome another obstacle.
“So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him. Because I see the way he fights. I see the way that he works, and I know who he is as a person and as an NFL quarterback.
“That’s all I have to say to address him. I’m sending up my prayers – I already prayed for his leg and I will continue.”