Of the on-field lows for an NFL player, it rarely hits a basement deeper than being asked if you don’t want to play the game. That’s a below-the-cellar, under-the-cement, career-buried type of accusation — the league’s answer to a “Dateline” missing person episode. It’s ugly … and it rarely ends well.
It’s not a question you ever want posed to your franchise quarterback. And it’s most certainly not what the Cleveland Browns had envisioned only eight weeks ago, when members of the organization spoke with Yahoo Sports and expressed their highest level of optimism to date about the next phase of Deshaun Watson’s career. And yet, that’s what unfolded Thursday, when the Browns quarterback was asked about suggestions from varying corners of the media (not to mention the fan base) that his lingering shoulder injury was somehow suggestive of a lacking desire to play for Cleveland.
Watson reacted with profanity, which is how most any prideful NFL player would react. But the fact that he was justifying his desire to play football for the Browns — when he’s not even through his second season with the franchise — speaks to how poorly things have gone in 2023. It also raises the question of how Cleveland and Watson will get this entire situation back on track in the coming weeks, which is unquestionably the top long-term priority for the player and team.
Before we get to unraveling some of that, this was Watson’s response to those who question his desire to play. The suggestion is out there. Now there’s a reply.
“Why wouldn’t I want to play?” Watson said Thursday. “I just worked my ass off for two years to get back to playing, so why wouldn’t I want to play? This is what I’ve been doing since I was 6 years old, so why wouldn’t I want to play? I see the same things — I see all the narratives, this, that and the third. All that stuff is just trying to cause controversy and commotion. I’m fine. I’m happy. I’m not happy with the injury. I’m in a great space mentally, I’m in a great space spiritually. Physically, everything else is in a great space but my shoulder, so we’re working hard to get that back. But why wouldn’t I want to play? I don’t do this for no other reason. I see that [talk] too, I see the whole contract situation [being brought up] and all that stuff.”
He later added of speculation from any national media outlets that would suggest he doesn’t want to play, “None of those national people know me. They don’t talk to me. All that’s speculation. If it ain’t coming from me, then all that other sh** is bulls***.”
For context, the speculation about Watson’s willingness to play would require some dot-connecting between two situations that don’t have anything to do with each other. He previously refused to play for Houston Texans because he had soured on ownership and other parts of the team structure and no longer wanted to continue forward. Thus far, there isn’t any indication whatsoever that a similar situation is unfolding in Cleveland. So what has happened?
Cutting through the medical chart and presenting this as simply possible, Watson has a shoulder injury that is one part weakness in his subscapularis muscle and one part pain management. If you want to dive into the biology of it, the best outline of the problem can be found in high-velocity baseball pitchers who suffer the injury. Essentially, it impacts arm acceleration into a throw and presents an inability to fire through a motion at what would normally be 100 percent. And this is what is most important to consider in Watson’s case: A pitcher can be “medically cleared to throw” but not fully rehabilitated enough in the muscle to throw with maximum velocity and without pain.
Without rehashing everything, that’s really where much of this went sideways, when Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski reacted to a line of questioning about Watson being medically cleared to play against the Baltimore Ravens, there should have been a distinction and added context in the exchange. Something along the line of this: Yes, Watson was medically cleared to throw a football, to warm up, etc. However, it’s a tricky injury that often relies on the athlete to communicate to coaches and athletic trainers whether or not he can throw with full velocity.
Watson felt like he was not 100 percent, and that’s why he didn’t play against the Ravens. And in the weeks since, it’s been a series of testing the shoulder out, trying to play with it, but still being in a place where the level of discomfort and lack of consistent peak velocity has undermined his ability to play. All of which makes this entire fiasco a master class in science and how to best disseminate information that accurately explains what is happening.
The descriptions of the biology were not always clear. Nor the way the information was related. But the bottom line through it all is simple. Watson has to continue to work on his shoulder until he feels like it can fire at 100 percent (or close to it) in his throwing motion. Until then, playing games at a lower percentage presents the possibility that he won’t feel right, won’t look right and won’t play right. There’s no set timeline, because every athlete who deals with the injury is different. So you have to play it week to week and see where it’s headed. That’s it. Period.
Of course, that this is happening in the middle of Year 2 for Watson — when everything was supposed to be coming together — has been part of the frustration for everyone. Whether it’s ownership, the front office, the coaching staff, the players, Watson or all of the Browns faithful, this is the massive pothole in the season that everyone was hoping to avoid. Especially in a season when the defense is so good and Watson’s backup quarterback options holding down the fort are so below average.
Yes, the Browns could have a better record if Watson was on the field and furthering the momentum he had coming out of the Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans. Yes, he’s missing more time and vital opportunities to find a groove in Stefanski’s offense. And yes, this is all happening in an important season for everyone in the organization. At some point, the plan has to start to work. From that vantage, it’s easy to see the Browns slamming into a confluence of poor circumstances that lead to inevitable teeth-gnashing. All while Watson’s contract and intertwined expectations of deliverance loom relentlessly over the franchise like Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer.
So where does this go from here?
That’s an answer that comes in varying parts. First, a road win against the Seattle Seahawks this weekend would work wonders for the franchise. Not only because it keeps the Browns (4-2) in the thick of the AFC North title race (they’re a half-game back of the first-place Ravens), but it continues to showcase a gritty ability to find success in the face of quarterback uncertainty. Second? Everyone needs to come to grips that Watson’s timeline for a close to 100 percent return is up in the air and entirely up to what his shoulder is telling him. He could be back in a week or a month or anything in between. Rushing it makes no sense if the long-term ramifications are dealing with the problem into January and beyond. But his season is not over. That much has been made clear.
And finally — maybe most important over the next five days — I expect the Browns will be active heading into the trade deadline on Tuesday. I think they will make calls and work hard to close a few deals. It’ll be the kind of trade efforts that suggest the decision-makers inside the organization believe big things are still possible this season, especially once Watson gets himself to where he’s throwing above his comfort level again.
Right now, even in the chaos and frustration, there is a message the Browns are trying to send. The quarterback isn’t quitting. And neither is the structure around him. That’s what the next five days — and next 11 games — have to be about.
