Browns fear QB Watson suffered torn Achilles

CLEVELAND — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered what appears to be a season-ending right Achilles injury but will undergo testing for confirmation, coach Kevin Stefanski said after his team’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals on Sunday.

“Obviously, it doesn’t look good with the injury,” Stefanski said. “So, I’ll give him a call here in a little but … disappointed for him. Any of our guys that you lose, you’re disappointed because you know much this means to them and how hard they work. It’s tough.”

Watson suffered the injury when his leg appeared to get hyperextended on a noncontact play as he tried to carry the ball on the first snap after the two-minute warning. Watson immediately gave himself up and fell to the ground.

Shortly thereafter, a cart came onto the field and carried off an emotional Watson. The entire Browns sideline came onto the field as he was placed on the cart.

Watson was ruled out shortly afterward.

Multiple players expressed frustration postgame with fans who appeared to cheer after Watson’s injury. Watson was met with boos in pregame introductions, which were quickly drowned out by cheers for running back Nick Chubb, who made his season debut after last year’s severe knee injury.

“We don’t boo guys that are injured on the field, especially when the cart comes out,” defensive end Myles Garrett said after the game. “We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall.”

Said Stefanski: “I don’t think it’s ever OK to cheer when someone’s injured. I’m sure it’s not every person in the building doing that, but that’s disappointing.”

The Browns had made Jameis Winston inactive as the emergency third quarterback, so second-year player Dorian Thompson-Robinson entered the game to replace Watson and was 11-of-24 passing for 82 yards and two interceptions. He suffered a finger injury in the fourth quarter, however, and was replaced by Winston, who was 5-of-11 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown to David Njoku.

Stefanski said he considered both Thompson-Robinson and Winston as No. 2 quarterbacks and went with Thompson-Robinson because the team did not include a short-yardage package with Winston in the game plan. Stefanski did not commit to a starting quarterback for next Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, saying he wanted to see the extent of Thompson-Robinson’s injury.

Watson, in his third season in Cleveland, has struggled this season, posting the lowest QBR of all qualified passers. He was 15-of-17 for 128 yards Sunday before the injury.

The injury likely ends another disappointing season for Watson, his third since the Browns traded three first-round picks and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract to bring him to Cleveland before the 2022 season.

He suffered a displaced fracture to the glenoid in his right shoulder that required him to miss the final eight games after season-ending surgery last November.

Watson, 29, has a history of serious leg injuries in college and the NFL. While at the University of Clemson, he played through a torn ACL in his left knee. Then as a member of the Houston Texans, he tore the ACL in his right knee and missed the final nine games of his rookie year in 2017.

Despite Watson’s struggles and Cleveland’s 1-5 start to the season, Stefanski continued to stand by him as the Browns’ starter, saying he gave the team its best chance to win.

Watson will apparently finish the third year of the five-year deal he signed upon being traded from the Houston Texans to the Browns with just 19 cumulative starts. He served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions.

The Browns still owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons. He has a salary cap hit of $72.9 million for 2025.