Yahoo Sports’ Matt Harmon reacts to the news that the Cleveland quarterback will undergo season-ending surgery on his fractured right shoulder.
Video Transcript
MATT HARMON: Deshaun Watson is out for the season. He’s going to undergo season ending shoulder surgery– just another brutal twist and turn in the Deshaun Watson contract saga for the Cleveland Browns. Yet another reason, obviously one that is outside of player and team control, but still yet another reason they’re probably not going to get the returns that they wanted when they sold their souls and traded for Deshaun Watson and everything that followed there.
It’s really difficult, because Deshaun Watson hasn’t played well this season. Now, he’s obviously coming off his best half of football for the Browns to beat the Ravens in Week 10. And obviously, he was playing through that injury, which makes it all the more impressive that he did that and that that was within him. So if you’re a Browns fan, it’s really unfortunate because there’s going to be a lot of what if here with you lose your best player in Nick Chubb, or at least one of your two best players alongside, obviously, Myles Garrett, who’s in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation– you lose him, your franchise quarterback who really has never gotten into a rhythm with this team, further is not in a rhythm with this team because of injuries this year.
Again, Watson wasn’t playing at a consistent high level, but he’s better than PJ Walker, man. I mean, the Browns have to look back with such regret trading Josh Dobbs, a backup that they had in camp. Walker is an aggressive player– so if you’re thinking about, like, Amari Cooper from a fantasy perspective, I think Cooper has actually been relatively productive with PJ Walker under center. Obviously, you’re going to downgrade him from a rest of season perspective– sort of kind of becomes a low end wide receiver 2, high end wide receiver 3.
Unfortunately, he has to play the rest of the season with PJ Walker. So rough for the Browns, brutal injury for them as they try to make a playoff push in a very competitive, very crowded AFC. I don’t have a lot of faith that they’re going to be able to figure this thing out with PJ Walker rest of season.
