Story by
Deshaun Watson does not throw to rest his shoulder during Cleveland Browns practice
- Story by
- Deshaun Watson does not throw to rest his shoulder during Cleveland Browns practice
BEREA — Deshaun Watson was on the field for the Browns as they began preparations for Sunday's home game against the Baltimore Ravens . However, he was not doing the one thing you ask a quarterback to do, which is throw the football.
Watson rested his right throwing shoulder during Wednesday's practice. He was listed as a limited practice participant when the Browns released their first official injury report of the week later in the afternoon.
Advertisement
The shoulder, though, is not expected to keep him from playing in Sunday's key AFC North game against the Ravens. The Browns have their bye week the following week.
Rookie backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson , as well as practice-squad quarterback P.J. Walker, handled all of the throw during the portion of practice open to the media. Watson would go through all of the motions on a given drill, but not throw the ball.
Watson appeared to sustain the injury, which is believed to only be a contusion, when he was hit by the Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker on a 4-yard run with just under 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter of Sunday's win . The hit did not require the quarterback to leave the game.
Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Teair Tart (93) tackles Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) during the third quarter in Cleveland, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.
Watson had his best game of his nine career starts for the Browns against the Titans. He completed 27-of-33 passes for 289 yards with two touchdowns and a 123.4 passer rating.
Advertisement
"You just have to understand that with certain play calls and certain runs, you have to take those hits," Watson said prior to Wednesday's practice. "You just got to know how to fall and know how to kind of take them and try not to take any heavy blows. At the same time, you just go on to the next play. Pretty much it comes with part of the game."
However, the Browns quarterback took three sacks and five quarterback hits. He also ran the ball four times for 16 yards, including the 4-yard run that set up Jerome Ford 's touchdown run to give the Browns a 20-3 lead.
Those totals also don't include the hit he took from Titans defensive end Arden Key in the second quarter. That play was negated by both the roughing the passer flag that was declined and a separate pass interference penalty.
Watson has taken big hits in all three games thus far, including a couple that, in the moment, appeared to significantly wobble him. He stayed down for a moment after Key's hit, but waved off the trainers and stayed in the game.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) reacts after being sacked during an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)
The same was true in the season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals , when he was sandwiched between Trey Hendrickson and D.J. Reader on a second-quarter throw. The Browns used a timeout after the hit, which left Watson's nose bloodied, but he didn't leave the game.
Advertisement
Watson has a history from his time as the Houston Texans quarterback from 2017-20 of coming back from hard hits and some tough injuries. He was asked about handling those prior to the shoulder injury being known on Wednesday.
"I mean, I think it just depends on the person and how bad the injury is and what can pretty much happen outside or after the injury," Watson said. "So if it's something like for instance the bus ride in Houston, I had a couple cracked ribs and a punctured lung so I couldn't fly. So they said I could drive and the biggest concern was what can happen afterwards. I mean, nothing much to you can really happen, the lung is just bleeding inside, so it's just gotta recover versus time, and then the ribs, it's going to heal on its own."
Watson has been sacked 12 times and hit 12 times over the first three games this season. Six of those sacks and 11 of those hits came in the Week 2 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers .
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Deshaun Watson rests shoulder at Browns practice, but expected to play
