Browns’ Deshaun Watson Throwing Every Other Day Amid Shoulder Injury Recovery

 

As he continues to heal from shoulder surgery last autumn, quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns is stuck to a strict throwing regimen.

As part of the Browns’ plan to only have him throw every other day, the three-time Pro Bowler was throwing passes throughout practice on Tuesday but only practiced throwing on Wednesday.
“I thought he looked like himself,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said to the media. Since we’ve entered phase 2, I’ve had the opportunity to observe him throughout the past few weeks. I’ve witnessed him toss, so. He’s coming along quite nicely. He appears to be himself, so we will just keep an eye on the medical staff.”

In April, Watson stated that he hopes to return to full strength in time for the regular season to begin.

Only six appearances were allowed for the 28-year-old in 2023. Although Cleveland won 5-1 when he first started, his play fell short of what the public had become accustomed to. With a 42.9 QBR, he completed his passes for 1,115 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions.

After returning from his NFL ban, Watson averaged 183.7 yards per game with seven touchdowns and five interceptions in six starts. His stats were comparable to those from 2022.

Cleveland obviously hopes that, after his shoulder surgery, Watson is a very different quarterback. It wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t get back to his former Houston Texans form.

given all of the guaranteed money still on his contract, it would be nothing short of catastrophic. The final year of the contract, 2026, is when the Browns might cut him, leaving them with around $64 million in dead money for that campaign.

Since Watson is still recovering from his injury, it is too soon to make any inferences from how he appears in practice. Some encouragement in that regard comes from the fact that he was at least throwing well before training camp.