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On Thursday Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said he was unsure if he would be able to play on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, furthering the mystery on just how serious his shoulder injury has been.
On Friday, the Browns put an end to the mystery by removing all injury designations from Watson and announced that he will in fact start Sunday’s game.
Watson has appeared in just one game over the past month, throwing five passes in a 39-38 win over the Indianapolis Colts a couple of weeks before exiting the game.
In his absence the Browns have used backups P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Now that Watson is slated to start Sunday’s game the next important step showing that he can still be a franchise-caliber quarterback. That is something the Browns have yet to see in his limited time with the team. He has missed significant time since the start of the 2022 season due to a suspension and injury, but his play on the field when he has actually been out there has left a lot to be desired. It also does not justify the price the Browns paid to acquire him in terms of both draft capital (multiple first-round picks) and salary (fully guaranteed $230 million contract).
He has completed just 59.6 percent of his passes and managed only a 79.8 passer rating in his first 10 appearances while struggling with turnovers (eight interceptions) and averaging just 6.4 yards per pass attempt. Those numbers are all a sharp drop from what he did as a member of the Houston Texans at his peak.
With a 4-3 record the Browns are still very much in the AFC playoff race and have a defense that is capable of getting them in the postseason. They just need more from Watson and the offense to complement it and get them there.
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