The Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson were both adamant that the quarterback wouldn’t miss any time despite suffering what the Browns called “a shoulder contusion” during a Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans.
However, Watson missed the entire Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. After the game, Watson and the Browns were adamant that he would return after the impending bye week against the San Francisco 49ers.
Watson missed that game, too, as the Browns beat the previously undefeated 49ers.
Last week, Watson gave it the old college try against the Indianapolis Colts. However, he still looked terrible. He completed one pass, threw one interception and should have had another that went right through the hands of a Colts defensive back.
The Browns already ruled Watson out this week against the Seattle Seahawks. And according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there is more than meets the eye to the current situation.
“That said, it would be naive to not at least wonder whether Watson has fallen out of love with the Browns,” Florio wrote. “He wanted out of Houston just a few months after signing a big-money extension. Also, the Browns were the first team Watson scratched from his list of four finalists in 2022, before the Browns offered a five-year, fully-guaranteed contract.”
In Florio’s opinion, it’s fair to wonder if the vibes are off between the quarterback and his new franchise just two years into his massive deals.
“So, yes, there’s a weird vibe. Neither the team nor Watson have said or done anything to change the situation. And we’ll continue to monitor things and generally to sniff around about whether the honeymoon has devolved into a standoff that, frankly, leaves both sides with few good options, given that Watson is due to make $46 million in 2023, in 2024, and in 2025, with every penny of it fully guaranteed.”
