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Kevin Stefanski 'waiting on medical' to increase Deshaun Watson's number of days throwing
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- Kevin Stefanski 'waiting on medical' to increase Deshaun Watson's number of days throwing
ROCKY RIVER — The Cleveland Browns will come to the end of their voluntary offseason program by the end of this week with three more OTA sessions. Next week, they'll end the entire program with three days of minicamp.
The big question over the final six days of the program is the same one that hung over the first part of the program. The question remains about quarterback Deshaun Watson and how much more throwing he'll be able to do as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery.
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Watson , who underwent the surgery on Nov. 21 after suffering a broken glenoid in the shoulder on Nov. 12, started throwing again on March 19 in Los Angeles. He's been on a regimented program authored by Dr. Neal ElAttrache — who performed the surgery — and the Browns' medical team since then.
That program had Watson throwing on every other day when the Browns have had on-field workouts. However, there's a qustion about when he'll progress into more days throwing before the team breaks for a monthlong break before training camp.
"We'll see," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday at the Cleveland Browns Foundation charity golf outing. "I think I'm really waiting on medical when it comes to that. If they say he's ready to go, we'll throw him in there. But until then, we're trying to keep it by the day. And he's doing really, really well."
Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns looks on before an Oct. 29, 2023, game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Washington.
Stefanski has only spoken twice since the Browns started the third phase, which involves the OTAs. Monday was the second time, with the first one coming after the second OTA session on May 22.
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It was after that OTA that Stefanski said Watson's schedule was, at the time, to throw every other day. However, he also said then "that will change as we get into mini-camp, obviously as we get into training camp."
Stefanski didn't necessarily walk that back Monday. Instead, he couched his answers in much the same verbiage he has with so many other answers about Watson's health, by pointing to the doctors.
"I think it's all being talked about with the medical groups," Stefanski said. "I know you could talk to Deshaun; he wants to be doing everything. But we'll continue to listen to whatever the doctors tell us."
Watson hasn't taken questions from the media since an April 16 news conference on the second day of the offseason program. He was at Monday's golf outing, but was not made available.
For now, Watson's throwing in practice has basically been limited to individual work with the receivers. He's taken 11-on-11 reps, but has faked the throw when the play has called for one to be made.
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Veteran free-agent signings Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley have taken all of the 7-on-7 throws. Dorian Thompson-Robinson remains mostly an observer as he recovers from a hip injury suffered in December.
"He looks like Deshaun Watson," Stefanski said. "Yeah, I mean, again, you guys should talk to him. Doing everything he's supposed to do. He's attacked this rehab from day one of the rehab. When he gets out there and throws it around — which I know you guys saw last week — looks like Deshaun Watson to me."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Deshaun Watson's next step in throwing program is 'waiting on medical'
