Browns QB Deshaun Watson To Have Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

The team announced Wednesday Watson was headed to the IR for the remainder of the season with a fracture in his throwing shoulder

It's been a roller coaster ride of a season for the Cleveland Browns. Suddenly it's taken its wildest turn. 

Starting quarterback Deshaun Watson's season is officially over. The Browns announced the news Wednesday morning, revealing that Watson had suffered a displaced fracture to the genloid in his throwing shoulder - an ailment that requires immediate surgery to avoid further structural damage. 

It was known that Watson had suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter of the Ravens game, an injury that left him in a walking boot postgame. That turned out to be a high ankle sprain according to an official statement from the team, as an MRI pinpointed on Monday. It was an additional MRI to his throwing shoulder that uncovered the fracture that will end the star QB's 2023 campaign. The expectation is that he makes a full recover post-surgery and returns in time for the start of the 2024 season. 

Deshaun Watson will undergo season-ending surgery on a broken bone in his throwing shoulder. pic.twitter.com/W79ku2xzND

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 15, 2023

Browns General Manager, Andrew Berry will meet with the media Wednesday morning to provide further updates. 

According to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Watson pleaded with doctors to simply be shot up and play through the injury, but those experts were adamant that if he sustained another hit to the shoulder it could do irreversible damage. 

#Browns QB Deshaun Watson wanted to be shot up and play through the injuries, and he sought multiple medical opinions, per sources. But doctors were clear: if he got hit again in the same spot, the shoulder could fall apart. Now surgery awaits and his 2023 season is over. pic.twitter.com/xULu52ZjVg

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 15, 2023

This is the second time this season Watson has dealt with a shoulder injury. From weeks 4-8 a rotator cuff contusion prevented the former Texan from playing all but 12 snaps during that span. 

He returned in Week 9 against the Cardinals and put together one of the best games of his Browns tenure, then followed it up with an epic come-back win over Baltimore this past Sunday. 

Watson and the Browns seemed to be building some serious momentum in recent weeks. Now, a major wrench threatens their promising season.