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Deshaun Watson was limited in practice and his status for the Cleveland Browns‘ final preseason game is now in question.
Watson is dealing with “general arm soreness,” which limited him during practice on Wednesday, August 21. When asked if Watson would throw more in Thursday’s practice, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said, “We’ll see.”
He added: “I decided to just hold back a little bit with him, but not overly concerned. He practiced. I held him back. He could have gone. He’s feeling fine.”
The timing is tough for the Browns and Watson. The plan has been for Watson to play in the team’s final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks. However, the Browns won’t take any risks with their $230 million quarterback if they don’t feel it’s worth it. Stefanski said earlier in the week that he’d decide on Watson’s status once he’d gathered more information.
“All of our starters should expect to play and then we’ll determine who does or doesn’t, how many plays they do,” Stefanski said. “Like I told you guys, in particular with Deshaun, I want to take in all the information this week and really make a final determination later in the week.
“I think all things factor into every decision for all of our players, truthfully. You know, we go player by player and what we’re trying to figure out is what do they need to get ready for a 17-game season. Every determination is based specifically on that player.”
Deshaun Watson Not Worried About Preseason Reps
Another issue for the Browns is that Watson would play behind a patchwork offensive line in the preseason finale. Cleveland is running short on offensive tackles, which would leave Watson’s blindside exposed. Coming off shoulder surgery, the Browns do not want to put Watson in a compromising situation.
While all those things make Watson’s status uncertain, there’s a legitimate concern that he hasn’t thrown a pass in a live game since November, when he went down with a shoulder injury.
The Browns have added new wrinkles and personnel to the offense and the unit has looked disjointed at times during training camp. However, Watson received much of the work during Cleveland’s joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings and he has said that preseason game reps aren’t overly critical to him despite playing in just 12 games over the last three years.
“I mean, the biggest thing with the preseason games, I think it comes down to operation. You’re not going to do too much in preseason, you’re not going to show anything,” Watson said on August 15. “So that’s why, you know, I take a lot of reps, if not majority of all the reps in these joint practices because it’s game-like, going against different opponents, different things. For me, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, once you step on field, you got to perform, you got to play.”
Browns RB Pierre Strong Leaves Practice in Ambulance
The more concerning injury news from Browns’ camp on Wednesday involved running back Pierre Strong Jr. He walked into the facility with a trainer and later left in an ambulance. Stefanski said Strong is dealing with a rib injury but did not have any further details.
It’s the second scary injury involving a Browns running back during camp. D’Onta Foreman was taken via helicopter to the hospital during the team’s practices at The Greenbrier in West Virginia. He was released a day later and made his preseason debut on August 17 against the Minnesota Vikings.
The most notable injured player in the running backs room is Nick Chubb. The four-time Pro Bowler is working his way back from knee surgery and remains on the PUP list. If he’s not activated prior to roster cutdowns later this month, he’ll miss the first four games of the season.
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