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Greg Newsome issued a warning to any Cleveland Browns backers looking to potentially abandon ship following a season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson.
Watson was ruled out for the rest of the season on November 15 with a broken bone in his shoulder. The Browns’ $230 million quarterback is also dealing with a high ankle sprain he played through against the Baltimore Ravens.
Newsome, a cornerback, said he understood that some Browns’ fans might lose faith in the team without their franchise quarterback, but he said that would be a mistake.
“Jump off board if you want,” Newsome tweeted. “You will regret it.”
The Browns are currently 6-3 and firmly in the playoff picture, holding the sixth seed. They’ll face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11 with a potential shot to take over the lead in the AFC North, pending the result of the Thursday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
Browns Will Rely on Defense to Lead the Way
The Browns offense is now missing its top two players — Watson and running back Nick Chubb, who has been out since Week 2 with a knee injury. That puts additional pressure on the Browns’ stellar defense to lead the way, but they’ve proved capable of doing so.
“I mean, anytime you lose any brother on a football field, it hurts, right? Franchise quarterback obviously is never ideal, but I feel like the mood in our locker room is opportunity,” linebacker Anthony Walker said on Wednesday, November 15. “We all understand that it sucks losing Deshaun, but we have the opportunity to keep the season going. We’re in a great position right now. We control our own destiny and that’s our mindset right now. So obviously, we love our brother. We want him to be out there with us. But right now, we got to focus on going 1-0 this week.”
The Browns are ranked first in yards allowed per game (242.7), and the defense showed up big against Baltimore. The Browns’ defense limited the bruising Ravens’ rushing attack to just 106 yards and picked off Lamar Jackson twice. One of those was a pick-six from Newsome — the first of his career.
“I’ve never seen the ball go that slow,” Newsome said. “When I saw the ball in the air, I was like, I have to go get it.”
The Browns are hoping to be healthy on that side of the ball for when they face the Steelers. Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward is dealing with a neck injury and safety Juan Thornhill isn’t practicing due to a calf issue.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson ‘Hurt’ Over Missing Season
The announcement that Watson would miss the rest of the year took many by surprise. He was dealing with an ankle injury following the win against Baltimore, but Watson told reporters that he didn’t expect to miss time.
Watson will now have to wait until next season to get back on the field, and he said it hasn’t been easy to digest.
“It’s very tough,” Watson said on November 15. “Hurt about it, but I’m going to make sure I keep my head above water and make sure I stay in touch with all the guys and support them as much as I possibly can and attack this rehab process after surgery and make sure that I’m doing whatever I can to be beneficial for the team while not actually being on the field with them and also prepping for the next year.”
The Browns will turn to rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson with Watson out.
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