It’s an appalling sight and soundbite that Cleveland Browns fans were enthusiastic about Deshaun Watson grimacing in pain during their Week 7 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, looking at the situation differently, the quarterback the Browns signed to a five-year, $230 million contract won’t complete another season.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reported that an MRI revealed that Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon. Watson suffered the injury during a non-contact play, wherein his leg got hyperextended after he tried to run the ball. In addition to his injury, Cleveland lost to Cincinnati 21-14.
Deshaun Watson is emotional as he's carted off the field in Cleveland pic.twitter.com/IwHpZ53gy0
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) October 20, 2024
The Browns need not look further to know that Watson’s 2024 campaign is over. Aaron Rodgers suffered an Achilles injury since the New York Jets’ 2023 season opener against the Buffalo Bills and never returned to play.
Therefore, there’s no chance Watson will return this year, even if the Browns make the playoffs. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski will have Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston as his starting quarterback.
Watson will have another season in which he plays less than ten games. In his first year with the Browns, Watson served an 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Last year, a shoulder injury limited him to six games.
Worst yet, his contract will always be part of the conversation. While Watson has an average annual salary of $46 million, the Browns restructured his contract to push more money to the latter years. Hence, his cap hit will substantially increase from around $20 million this year to a whopping $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026.
Those mammoth sums have Browns fans hoping that Watson can turn his performance around. Unfortunately, with how their supporters behaved after he went down, they might have resigned to the fact that Watson won’t regain the form that made him a Pro Bowler and a one-time passing yards leader.
-Lance Fernandez