Browns QB Deshaun Watson Lost for Season, Teammates Rip Fans for Booing

The initial fears were correct. The Cleveland Browns announced on Monday that quarterback Deshaun Watson will be out for the rest of the season after suffering a ruptured Achilles during Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Deshaun Watson was emotional as he was being carted off the field. Former head team doctor of the Chargers David J. Chao knew right away that Watson’s season was over.

“By video, clear right Achilles tendon rupture. Telltale calf reverberation. Surgery and season over,” Chao wrote on X.

#DeshaunWatson
By video, clear right Achilles tendon rupture
Telltale calf reverberation
Surgery and season over pic.twitter.com/wfmE7eFKsR

— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) October 20, 2024

Watson was replaced by second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who got the call up to the second string instead of Jameis Winston. The team’s fifth-round pick out of UCLA in 2023, Robinson started three games last season when Watson was injured, before the team turned to veteran free agent Joe Flacco.

Browns fans booed Watson as he was introduced prior to Sunday’s home game against the Bengals. The fanbase’s patience is wearing thin with Watson, who signed a $230 million fully guaranteed contract with the Browns in 2022. It remains the largest in NFL history and Cleveland would absorb a $92 million dead cap hit if he was released.

Heading into Week 7, Watson completed 61.3% of his passes and had a 76.6 passer rating. Watson was 24th in passing yards, 27th in completion percentage, 28th in passer rating and 30th in adjusted net yards per attempt through the first six weeks of the season.

The Haslams probably have buyers remorse after fumbling the Watson signing, which was very controversial due to the more than two dozen women who accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. Watson served an 11-game suspension in 2022 for violating the league’s conduct policy.

Winston and All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett both ripped the fans for booing Deshaun Watson prior to the game. Garrett called him a “model citizen.”

“No one deserves that,” Garrett said. “I’ve seen him work his ass off to get back here and put a smile on his face and try to put everything that’s outside the facility behind him. Death threats, [people] come to his house. People going after his family. Like I said, no one deserves that. I hate using the word deserve. I’m usually consistent saying earned. He hadn’t earned it, and he doesn’t deserve it.

“Man does pretty much everything right. A model citizen through college and also the pros. Plays the game as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen. Puts everything on the line, willing to throw his body out there. He plays the game at 100 miles an hour, and there’s a risk of being injured, and he took that risk. We have to be there for him as a team and as an organization. We can’t look down on a guy because of any mistakes on the field or anything off the field. We don’t have any moral high ground to look down on the guy.”

“The way I was raised, I was taught to love no matter the circumstances, especially with people who do right by you,” Winston passionately expressed. “I’m grateful to have the 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.”

With Watson out for the year, either Thompson-Robinson or Winston will start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 and Week 14.

“[Deshaun Watson] has been a model citizen through college and most of the pros”

Myles Garrett wasn’t happy about fans cheering when Deshaun got hurtpic.twitter.com/XUQ5xl99WA

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 20, 2024