Browns QB Deshaun Watson Breaks Silence on New Injury

Getty Images Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson is having an MRI on his ankle.

Deshaun Watson is having an MRI on his injured ankle but the Cleveland Browns quarterback doesn’t expect to miss any time with the new injury.

Watson took some hard hits during the Browns’ 33-31 victory against the Baltimore Ravens, including one before the half that left him hobbled. Watson battled through the rest of the game but was clearly affected by the injury.

Despite the new injury, Watson expects to be ready to go to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, November 19 in a critical AFC North matchup.

“I’ll be fine,” Watson said after the game. “I mean, right now I’m not feeling well. I’ll be fine. I’ll be ready to go whatever time it is.”

Watson missed all but one quarter of four games with a rotator cuff strain. Luckily, that injury hasn’t become an issue for Watson, although he admitted in the week leading up to the matchup with the Ravens that he’s not near 100 percent yet.

“He’s a warrior,” Stefanski said of Watson. “The kid again makes plays when they’re not there. [He] makes unbelievable throws and leads his football team. There was really never a doubt in his mind about how this game was going to turn out. I saw that throughout the week and throughout the game itself. He’s a leader of this football team for a reason.”

Deshaun Watson Delivers Perfect Half of Play

It wasn’t pretty early but Watson and the Browns battled back against the Ravens. Nothing went right for the passing game in the first half. Watson tossed a pick-six on the second play of the game and entered the locker room early with the ankle injury.

But the Browns’ $230 million QB bounced back with a perfect second half, going 14-of-14 on his passes and leading the Browns to the eventual game-winning field goal.

Watson finished the game 20-of-34 for 213 yards. He had a touchdown and an early interception. He was clearly hobbled in the second half after taking some hard hits and was already dealing with a strained rotator cuff, which forced him to miss three starts and the better part of a fourth game. It was a gutsy performance from Watson that earned the respect of his teammates.

“He played amazing,” Browns running back Kareem Hunt said. “He played with guts, he never got rattled, wasn’t worried about anything. He made huge, breaking tackles, running all over the place, making first downs and we need him to do things like that.”

Injury Issues Mounting for Browns

On top of Watson’s injury issues, the Browns are playing shorthanded nearly all over the field. The Browns were starting a pair of backup offensive tackles against the Ravens, didn’t have their team MVP Nick Chubb — who was lost in Week 2 — and were missing Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward for most of the game.

Ward is dealing with a neck injury but did clear concussion protocol. That’s important for Ward, who has already missed extensive time with concussion issues.

Ward is expected to be ready to face the Steelers, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The Browns are also awaiting MRI results back on starting safety Juan Thornhill, who is dealing with a calf issue.