The Cleveland Browns' longstanding quarterback nightmare continues.
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Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis against the Colts, Watson rolled out and was intercepted by defensive back Kenny Moore, before being knocked to the turf with his head banging off the ground.
WOW: Here is the play where Deshaun Watson got injured, he gets shoved to the ground really hard by the defender and his head slams extremely hard
😳pic.twitter.com/KIIsLYQrPL
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 22, 2023
Watson was helped off the field, and into the locker room, but despite ultimately clearing the concussion tests, had yet to return to the game deep into the third quarter in Indianapolis. Prior to getting injured, Watson had completed 6-of-12 passes for 70 yards with the interception to Moore.
Veteran quarterback P.J. Walker came on in relief for Watson, and completed 6-of-12 passes for 70 yards, as of midway through the third quarter.
Watson returned to the sideline but hadn't yet returned to the field as the second half got underway and the Browns' offense took the field in the third quarter.
The injury is just the latest disappointment in Watson's tenure as the Browns' starting quarterback since Cleveland signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract despite the 28-year-old facing credible sexual misconduct allegations by more than 20 women.
Since returning from an 11-game suspension to open the 2022 season, Watson has completed only 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,780 yards with 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions in his first nine games in a Browns uniform.
Cleveland had hoped that signing Watson would finally provide some stability and high-level quarterback play for an organization that had started 25 different quarterbacks since 2010. So far, that hasn't been the case.
Watson had been making his return to the lineup on Sunday afternoon, for the first time since Week 3, when he suffered a bruised rotator cuff.
Watson has appeared in only four games thus far in the 2023 campaign, completing 63 percent of his passes for 678 yards with four touchdowns to two interceptions along with 15 carries for 83 yards and one rushing touchdown. Cleveland was 2-1 in games Watson had started, entering Sunday's clash with the Colts.
