Is Watson currently in Week 5 of a 4-6-week injury?
“I’m really just focused on this week,” Stefanski said.
Was the injury originally misdiagnosed?
“Every injury, you take in information every single day. So, in that way, you’re day to day,” Stefanski said.
The run-around was telling. Something is clearly off between the Browns and Watson, now in Year 2 of an unprecedented five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
The team initially said Watson would be back in the lineup several weeks ago. Instead, he will miss what amounts to his fourth game in a row on Sunday, and he didn’t throw a football in practice this past week.
Watson has been widely accused, most vocally by former Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, of not playing through the injury because of his guaranteed contract. A related criticism is that Watson has already soured on the Browns and wants out of Cleveland.
But that’s only one potential explanation. It’s also possible that the Browns did Watson a disservice by not being more transparent about his injury early on, creating unfair expectations for Watson. And it’s possible that there has been terrible communication and/or cooperation between Watson, the team doctors, and the coaches.
Whatever the answer, it’s not a good reflection on the Browns, who are 4-2 but have mismanaged Watson’s injury and the quarterback position in general.
Watson and the Browns didn’t seem too concerned when he injured his right shoulder in a Sept. 24 win over the Titans, Watson’s best game of the season — 27 for 33 for 289 yards and 2 TDs. The Browns didn’t put Watson on injured reserve, and they seemed confident he would be able to play in Week 4.
The first sign of trouble came that next Sunday, when Watson surprisingly decided not to play against the Ravens following a pregame workout. Still, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said during the Week 5 bye there was no need to put Watson on IR because they didn’t believe the injury would linger. The Browns didn’t sign P.J. Walker from the practice squad to the active roster or add another quarterback.
But the bye week did Watson no good. Watson missed the Week 6 win over the 49ers. He tried to play last Sunday against the Colts, ramping up his practice participation throughout the week to a full practice on Friday, but he lasted just 12 snaps before taking a hit to his right shoulder and being pulled in the first quarter.
This past week, the Browns sat Watson completely, telling him not to throw and focus only on rehab. They have declined to put a timetable on his return.
“He’s a thrower, and when you can’t throw at 100 percent, then it’s tough to go out and play,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “I know he’s trying to do everything he can to get back on the field with his teammates, and he showed that last week. He came out and fought through, got back, had some practice time late in the week, and tried to be out there on Sunday. I know he’s frustrated. It’s just part of the deal.”
Watson on Wednesday defended himself against accusations that he’s not trying to play through pain because of his contract, or that his relationship with the Browns has soured, calling it “[expletive].”
“I just worked my [butt] off for two years to get back to playing, so why wouldn’t I want to play?” Watson said. “I’m fine. I’m happy. I’m not happy with the injury, but I’m in a great space mentally. I’m in a great space spiritually. Physically, everything else is in a great space except my shoulder. So we’re working hard to get that back.”
Even if Watson and the Browns are on the same page, the partnership has been a disaster. Watson, 28, was supposed to be the franchise savior when the Browns traded three first-round picks for him and gave him $230 million in 2022.
But thanks to suspension and injury, Watson has played in just 10 games in two seasons, with little production: A 6-4 record, 179 passing yards per game, 59.6 completion percentage, 11 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and a 79.8 passer rating that ranks 36th out of 39 quarterbacks.
That replacement-level production already has cost the Browns $63.3 million, and will be up to $92 million by the end of this season. Last year, Jacoby Brissett put up similar numbers in 11 games and cost the Browns $4.65 million. This year, the Browns have won both games with Walker, making the veteran minimum $1.01 million.
Watson isn’t the only quarterback asset the Browns are bungling. They finally signed Walker to the active roster on Tuesday after leaving him unprotected on the practice squad and using his three game-day elevations. They are lucky no team poached Walker off their practice squad the last four weeks, which would have left the Browns with just rookie fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who looked overmatched in his surprise start in Week 4, a 28-3 loss to the Ravens. The Browns also traded Josh Dobbs in late August to the Cardinals, where he has played surprisingly well as Kyler Murray’s fill-in.
Watson said he won’t return to the lineup until he, the coaches, and the doctors “feel very comfortable that I can go out there and be the quarterback people saw against Tennessee” in Week 3.
“It could be tomorrow, it could be next week. I don’t know,” Watson said.
Whether Watson and the Browns are on the same page, his throwing shoulder has become a $230 million headache.
QUICK TURNAROUND
49ers believe
Purdy will play
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was a surprise addition to the injury report on Wednesday when it was revealed that he was in the concussion protocol. Purdy had finished Monday’s loss to the Vikings but started feeling symptoms on the flight home, coach Kyle Shanahan said. The concussion appeared to come on a quarterback sneak late in the game.
Though the 49ers had a short week to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Bengals, Shanahan expressed optimism that Purdy could pass through the concussion protocol and play. Shanahan said Purdy was able to participate in a walkthrough on Wednesday, then limited was in Thursday’s practice and a full participant on Friday.
“He was full go today, so he’s just got to pass that tomorrow,” Shanahan said Friday.
Assuming the 49ers have been adhering to the concussion protocol, Purdy’s quick return would make him one of the lucky ones. In 2023, concussions have mostly been a multi-week injury.
Based on an analysis of NFL weekly practice reports, 50 players were diagnosed with concussions through the first eight weeks, and Purdy would be one of eight to get back on the field without missing a game. Of the remaining 42 players, 41 missed at least one game, and Dolphins safety Jevon Holland is questionable for Sunday against the Patriots.
ETC.
Two Jets not happy
about being grounded
Suffice to say, nothing about the season has gone according to plan for the Jets. Though they are pleasantly surprised to be 3-3 and trending upward despite losing Aaron Rodgers for the season, not all is well in Jet-land.
A couple of pricey veterans, running back Dalvin Cook and linebacker Carl Lawson, aren’t happy to be buried on the depth chart.
Cook, signed for one year and $7 million this training camp, has just 155 scrimmage yards and no touchdowns while playing a clear second fiddle to Breece Hall, who has 539 total yards and two scores. Cook has played just 20 snaps in recent wins over the Broncos and Eagles, and he sounds like he wouldn’t mind being traded before Tuesday’s deadline.
“Of course it’s frustrating,” Cook said via ESPN. “I come from getting the ball 20 times a game.”
Lawson, playing out the last year of a three-year, $45 million contract, has just three tackles in four games while playing 24 percent of the snaps. He had seven sacks last year after missing 2021 with a torn Achilles’.
“I definitely want to play and contribute because I know I can,” Lawson said. “But right now I’m with the Jets.”
Playing the blame game
It was an interesting week of finger-pointing. In San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan pointed the blame squarely at defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for calling a seven-man blitz at the end of the first half of Monday’s loss to the Vikings. Charvarius Ward missed the interception, and no one was back deep to tackle Jordan Addison on a 60-yard touchdown with seven seconds left that proved to be the deciding points.
“He knows he messed up on that call,” Shanahan said of Wilks. “If you need to get 20 yards to kick a field goal, I have no problem with a zero blitz. But I do when there’s 16 seconds left. That’s where he lost track. There was no necessary need for that just because of the time.”
Wilks, tail firmly tucked between his legs, opened his Thursday news conference with a mea culpa.
“I take full responsibility for that call,” he said. “I wish I could take it back, but again, I’ve got to do better.”
While Wilks may have been the one to make the call, Shanahan is still the head coach and can override his assistants. It’s poor form for Shanahan not to take responsibility, and ultimately the touchdown is his fault, as he didn’t do anything to stop it.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr also thinks people are making too much of his outbursts at his teammates in the Oct. 19 loss to the Jaguars.
“I didn’t even cuss nobody out, and everyone thinks that everyone is mad at each other. So times are definitely changing,” Carr said.
It’s not the yelling, it’s that getting upset at teammates when they make mistakes is bad leadership from the starting quarterback. In fact, it’s a terrible way for a quarterback who just came to the team last offseason to win over his new teammates.
On the surface, a turf war
While the Players Association has been pressuring owners to install natural grass fields at all 30 stadiums for safety reasons, a few natural grass surfaces have caused players to gripe the last couple of years.
One is at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, where the surface is always slippery and was like an ice rink for last February’s Super Bowl. A similar situation played out in last year’s inaugural game in Germany, with Buccaneers and Seahawks players complaining about the slickness of the grass field in Munich.
This year’s two Germany games, set for the next two weeks at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, will instead use a hybrid playing surface, in which natural grass is fortified with synthetic fibers.
“We continue to review the best surfaces for teams to play on and work with our stadium partners — both before and after events,” the NFL said in a statement. “In Frankfurt, the hybrid product will also allow for reduced wear to the playing surface ensuring quality for back-to-back games.”
Hybrid surfaces are common in European soccer stadiums. Green Bay’s Lambeau Field is the only NFL stadium that uses a hybrid surface, and players routinely rave about its quality. Coincidentally (or not), the Packers are the only franchise without a traditional owner and often put fan and player needs ahead of profits.
A lot has been made in these parts about the Patriots only getting a 2025 seventh-round pick from the Titans for kicker Nick Folk, who has been automatic (16 for 16). But the Chargers did the same, getting a 2025 seventh-rounder from the Browns at the end of training camp for kicker Dustin Hopkins, who lost the job to Cameron Dicker. Hopkins has been unbelievable for the Browns, hitting on 16 of 18 field goals, including an NFL-best 7 of 7 from 50-plus yards. Hopkins has connected on at least one 50-yarder in five straight games, and in last week’s 39-38 win over the Colts, he hit field goals of 54, 54, and 58 yards. Hopkins has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week each of the last two weeks . . . Bears coach Matt Eberflus tried to squash controversy this past week by stating that Justin Fields will be the team’s starting quarterback whenever he is able to return from a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. It would be admirable to return Fields to the lineup, because the Bears certainly have the incentive to bench him and play for the No. 1 pick and the right to draft another quarterback. But it may be tough to turn back to Fields if the Bears get another good game Sunday out of undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent, who seems to be winning over fans and teammates with his attitude and underdog story. Bagent’s father, Travis Bagent, claims to have won 25 national titles and 13 world titles in arm wrestling . . . The Panthers-Texans game on Sunday may not have too many viewers, but it will mark the first time in NFL history that the top three picks from that year’s draft will appear in a game together — Panthers quarterback Bryce Young against Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Young and Stroud never played each other in college, but faced each other in eighth grade when Young was on the Pomona Steelers and Stroud the Inland Empire Ducks . . . Tennessee’s Will Levis could become the seventh rookie quarterback to start a game this season in the first eight weeks, joining Young, Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Aidan O’Connell, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Bagent . . . It took 99 seasons and 1,445 games (including postseason), but the Giants finally won a game started by a Black quarterback last week when Tyrod Taylor led a victory over the Commanders . . . Since the sack became an official statistic in 1982, only two players have reached 70 sacks and seven interceptions in their first seven seasons: Lawrence Taylor and T.J. Watt . . . Patrick Mahomes is 12-0 against the Broncos entering Sunday’s game in Denver. It’s reminiscent of Tom Brady’s dominance over the Bills, which included a 17-1 record between 2001-10 and 33-3 overall . . . The Jaguars have a league-high 16 takeaways in seven games, for a pace of 39. The last two teams to force that many turnovers in a season made the Super Bowl — the 2015 Panthers and 2013 Seahawks.
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].
