The Cleveland Browns quarterback situation made headlines Friday.
Deshaun Watson, who had been limited in practice all week with a shoulder injury he suffered in the team’s 27-3 win over the Titans, was not much of an active participant on Friday. According to multiple reports, Watson threw a couple passes and then stopped, before stopping and talking to Cleveland’s head athletic trainer.
We saw Watson throw one pass then he walked over to the trainer at the start of practice. Have to guess DTR is getting prepped to play.
We will hear from Stefanski in an hour.
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) September 29, 2023
#Browns Deshaun Watson threw couple passes then stopped and talked to head athletic trainer. Will get update from Kevin Stefanski after practice. Dealing with sore right shoulder all week.
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) September 29, 2023
Waston also reportedly took mental reps, as backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson received all of the first-team reps during the team’s red zone drills. That was during the open portion of practice to the media, and head coach Kevin Stefanski later said that Watson participated in light throwing after the media was no longer able to watch practice.
#Browns Deshaun Watson took some mental reps while watching rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson take all the first team reps in a red zone drill pic.twitter.com/c1xywt4Gnt
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 29, 2023
Stefanski, playing his cards close to his chest, is “hopeful” that Waston will be able to play on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
Stefanski says he's "hopeful" that Watson will be able to play Sunday #Browns
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) September 29, 2023
He also didn’t reveal much, pointing to the injury report when asked for more specifics about Watson’s injury.
The NFL world was quick to react to the concerning Browns’ quarterback news.
https://twitter.com/madden_tron/status/1707785358593683523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1707785358593683523%7Ctwgr%5E131dbb519ca7398aed7dbe24346a56a766c55811%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fmadden_tron2Fstatus2F1707785358593683523widget%3DTweet
https://twitter.com/joycecalhio/status/1707786178412548249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1707786178412548249%7Ctwgr%5Ea17fc860f6d6a6153a848faa56ca07c91eaa5d8a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fjoycecalhio2Fstatus2F1707786178412548249widget%3DTweet
A big divisional game Sunday. Have to Rally behind DTR if he gets the start. Really hoping Watson is okay after the bye week. #DawgPound https://t.co/4BBhFxCpw6
— Zach D (@ZachNoah52) September 29, 2023
I mean the backup doesn’t take 100% of reps on a Friday without having a good prob of starting. It’s Friday not Wednesday https://t.co/WMM22mxkzC
— Clevta (@Clevta) September 29, 2023
DTR isn't giving up this spot once he has it
Deshaun is done in CLE https://t.co/BDGhkIqiS4
— The Golf Guy (@YoungAri_Gold) September 29, 2023
Yikes.
Yeah, the #Browns are in serious trouble if Watson sits. Looking more likely he does, too.
So much for heading into the bye 3-1. https://t.co/Qq0p1bONmi
— Russell Williams (@Russ_Will_) September 29, 2023
He’ll play. If he wasn’t going to play, Stefanski would’ve said “we’ll see how the next couple days go and make the determination from there”. https://t.co/UjvHe1bcR9
— CLEology (@_CLEology) September 29, 2023
Watson is coming off his best performance of the season in the Browns’ 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 3. Watson, who has gotten off to a less-than-stellar start in Cleveland, completed 27-of-33 passes (81.8 percent) for 289 yards with two passing touchdowns. He added four rushes for 16 yards, but one of those attempts is why he’ll be listed as “questionable” for Sunday’s game.
If Watson is unable to go, Thompson-Robinson will assume the starting role. While Stefanski is “hopeful” that Watson will play, the backup quarterback taking the majority of snaps in practice on Friday is not a great sign for Sunday’s game.
