The Most Concerning News For Browns About Deshaun Watson's Injury
Nobody on planet earth knows if Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will play against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. Not the Pope, the President, Roger Goodell or any fully functioning A.I. bot. Watson's teammates, coaches, even Watson himself doesn't know.
On Wednesday the Browns signal caller seemed optimistic about potentially playing in Week 7, but followed that optimism dubbing himself "up in the air."
"I think so," Watson said about whether or not it's possible he'll play in Indianapolis. "It just depends on the process of the medical stuff and the treatment and the rehab that we're doing day-to-day. It's just up in the air for sure."
Four weeks into this saga, the status of Watson's rotator cuff remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries.
His status for a late October matchup with the rebuilding Colts – who won't have their starting quarterback either – is less important than what awaits beyond this week.
Watson himself admitted that he also has no clue if this is an ailment that will impact his play for the rest of the season.
“I’m not sure," Watson said of whether or not the injury could effect him beyond the next couple weeks. "This is my first time dealing with a rotator cuff, so I’m just trying to get as comfortable as I possibly can to go out there and perform at the level I know I can. And if I can’t, then we just got to continue to take it day to day."
The red flags are officially up. If Watson is hindered by this shoulder injury deep into the season it's a doomsday scenario for the Browns.
With a championship caliber defense, playing at a historic level at the moment, Cleveland is in full on "win-now" mode. The key cog in this organization's playoff, heck maybe even championship, aspirations is Watson.
The three first-round picks, all that guaranteed money, the team made this investment with visions of competing for Lombardi trophies. That house of cards falls apart though if he's not playing. Frankly, there's too much at stake this season. Head coach Kevin Stefanski's job and yet another potential front office reset weighs in the balance. The future of a handful of key players weighs in the balance.
That's not to say the Browns have to win it all this year, but anything short of a playoff appearance would be considered a failure this season. Even with an elite defense, that becomes much harder with a subdued version of Watson.
It's not full on critical mass just yet. Watson could return in the next few weeks and all of this doom and gloom will be for the birds, if he's effective and winning football games. However, if this mystery lingers into November or, God forbid, December, the situation could be much more grim.
