NFL Analyst Skeptical Of Browns Recent Injury Update For Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed this week that the star QB was dealing with "arm soreness" earlier in the week

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) participates in drills before an NFL preseason football game at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski caused a bit of stir this week when he revealed star quarterback was dealing with "general arm soreness," which limited him to only a few reps at practice on Wednesday.

The timing of the news seemed a little fishy considering Stefanski was also weighing an important decision in regards to whether or not Watson would start for Cleveland's preseason finale against the Seahawks. NFL analyst Charles Robinson shared his suspicions of the injury announcement during an interview on told 92.3 Baskin and Phelps.

"The whole 'alright this is the plan for him to play in the final preseason game,' everybody knew it was a risk, right? We all knew," Robinson said. "It's sort of like, how does this not happen? And then the general soreness pops up and to me it feels convenient. I saw the freakout "oh my God, Deshaun Watson's limited at practice with arm soreness, but I'm like the easiest way to decide just to bypass that final preseason game is something like this. So I guess I would just say I'm a little skeptical."

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As Robinson referenced, Stefanski actually stated last week that Watson would play in the team's third and final preseason game against the Seahawks. However, with starting left tackle Jedrick Wills still recovering from a knee injury and the Browns watched three reserve tackles go down with injuries during last weekend's preseason matchup with the Vikings. That included James Hudson III who had primarily been handling the starting left tackle spot in Wills absence.

Hakeem Adeniji and Germain Ifedi also left the contest with injuries as the former ended up on the team's IR this week and Ifedi returned to practice. Still, being down to the fourth option to protect Watson's blindside isn't exactly ideal. That's why Stefanski walked back his comments on Watson starting and instead reverted to saying that he is going to "take in all the information" from another week of practice before making a final decision on whether or not he'll play.

Robinson may just be onto something as "arm soreness" would make for an easy out for Stefanski to give Watson the week off and instead focus on getting him ready for the start of the regular season.

Stefanski's final decision will become more clear on Saturday in the hours leading up to the Browns matchup with Seattle, which is slated for a 10 p.m. eastern standard time kickoff.