What’s Wrong With Deshaun Watson Now? Cleveland Browns Mystery

The Cleveland Browns seem to have themselves a Deshaun Watson Problem.

The Cleveland Browns traded with the Houston Texans for quarterback Deshaun Watson with the intention of him fixing the franchise's quarterback problem.

And so far, that has not exactly been the case. 

Through the first nine games of his tenure with the Browns, Watson is just 5-4 as a starter and has thrown 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions, with a QBR of just 82.4.

Not exactly what you want from a guy making $230 million fully guaranteed.

But even more odd, is that Watson has been completely absent from the Browns lineup since Week 4, with the team citing a 'bruised shoulder' as the reason for his absence. 

Officially, Watson is listed as day-to-day, but as it stands, it appears that he won't make the start in Week 6 for the Browns matchup against the undefeated 49ers on Sunday.

To make things even stranger? Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski was extremely vague about Watson's status with the media this week. 

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (right) watches quarterback PJ Walker (10) warm up before a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns Stadium / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

“Any injury, I don’t care if it’s ankle, knee ... you have to be able to do your job,” Stefanski said.  “You have to be able to function and do all the things that are asked of you to play your position. That’s really what it is, making sure that he continues to rehab and get to a place where he’s able to do his job at a high level.”

And even after a bye week, things are just as mysterious.

Even rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who started in Watson's place in Week 4, has no idea what the status of Watson is going forward. 

“I know as much as you guys do," Thompson-Robinson said. "We all try to work to be the starter every day, including Deshaun with his rehab and everything like that.”

The Browns have elevated veteran P.J. Walker to the backup role, seemingly with the intention of starting him against San Fransico on Sunday.

In other words, this will make three consecutive weeks that Watson is sidelined in practice and games, with no clear timeline on his return. 

Mysterious indeed.