The Cleveland Browns have found ways to win ugly this season. Their QB situation has been shaky all year. In nine games played, they’ve already started three different QBs. Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker, and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson have all started at least one game.
In Week 10, the Browns were on the road vs. Baltimore and snuck out a 33-31 win to improve to 6-3 this season. However, starting QB Deshaun Watson suffered two different injuries in the gritty win. He played through a high ankle sprain and a fracture in his right shoulder. The 28-year-old needs season-ending shoulder surgery, leaving P.J. Walker in line to start the rest of the 2023 season.
Will P.J. Walker be able to keep Cleveand’s playoff hopes alive over their final eight games this season?
Deshaun Watson not only played through an ankle injury in the first half… but also a broken shoulder. Now, PJ Walker is their starting QB. https://t.co/PjTs937cMO
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 15, 2023
Now that Watson is out with season-ending shoulder surgery, he’ll have only played six games in each of his first two seasons with the Browns. Certainly not what Cleveland envisioned when they signed him to a five-year, $230 million contract. So far, he hasn’t been worth anything close to that in two seasons with the Browns. He’s gone 8-4 in his 12 starts.
Replacing Watson is P.J. Walker who’s started two games for Cleveland this season. He went 1-1 in those games. Walker has thrown for one touchdown and five interceptions in 2023. There’s a reason that Walker was undrafted and had to play in the XFL before getting his chance to play for the Panthers in 2020. The 28-year-old spent three seasons with Carolina before ending up with the Browns in 2023.
From @GMFB with breaking news: #Browns QB Deshaun Watson is out for the season — with a shoulder fracture. pic.twitter.com/1bZTc7Kgd9
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 15, 2023
With Watson’s injury history, you would have thought that Cleveland would have found a better backup before the trade deadline. However, they decided to stay with who they had on the roster and now they’re in a tough spot. Watson is done for the year and P.J. Walker is presumably their starter for the final eight games.
The Browns have one of their biggest games of the season this Sunday vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams are 6-3 heading into this matchup and they are both fighting for the best playoff seeding they can get. Pittsburgh is currently the fifth seed and the Browns are sixth. A win vs. the Steelers could change that for Cleveland, but they’ll have to rely on P.J. Walker to keep the offense running. Not an ideal scenario for the Browns.
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