Deshaun Watson had an injury scare during a celebrity softball game, but the Cleveland Browns quarterback emerged unscathed.
Watson played in the infield during David Njoku’s celebrity softball game and collided with Browns tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden while attempting to make a catch. Mitchell-Paden is no small man at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, and everyone held their collective breath as Watson flipped, landing on his surgically repaired shoulder.
But Watson popped up after a brief moment of anxiety. He told Cleveland.com after the game that he’s doing fine.
“I was good,” Watson said, per Mary Kay Cabot.
Mitchell-Paden might have been the most concerned as he watched the Browns franchise quarterback tumble to the ground.
“The whole time he was down I was like, ‘Are you good? are you good?’” Mitchell-Paden said, per Cleveland.com. “‘You ain’t hurting and there’s nothing lingering?’ I was just making sure he was OK because that was a mistake. So going forward, if I’m ever doing something like this again, I’ll just make sure I’m just laid back, and I’m just chillin.”
Browns QB Deshaun Watson Says Shoulder Feeling Good
All eyes have been on Watson as he returns from the shoulder injury. It limited him to six games last season, and it’s been a long journey back. He recently gave an update on how his shoulder is feeling during his “QB Unplugged” show.
“Last year was an injury. I can’t control that. I got hit and I landed on my shoulder wrong and my shoulder came apart. At the end of the day, it’s football,” Watson said. “My shoulder has been feeling really good. Load management, one day at a time, following the rules. This is the plan, and this is what we need to continue to do to get to where we need to get to. Being able to be on the field with the guys and tossing the football with the guys is definitely key. We can work on the timing. There’s no restrictions to that.”
Watson has played in 12 games with the Browns since a blockbuster trade in 2022, passing for 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He hasn’t played more than six games in a single season since 2020, mostly due to off-field issues.
Browns Have High Expectations for Deshaun Watson
“Deshaun Watson has been rehabbing the shoulder injury and he’s well on his way..
We do expect to hit the ground running and I know he’s very excited about returning to the playing field” ~ Andrew Berry #PMSLive
The Browns have invested in Watson being their franchise quarterback but need him to start producing like one. There have been hiccups during the first two years, but Cleveland feels like Watson is in prime position to churn out a solid season.
“We feel very good about the transition. He is in a good spot mentally and physically,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said in May during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “Obviously, he’s been rehabbing the shoulder injury, but he is well on his way there and in a really strong spot. I think he’s a lot more comfortable within the organization. You know, we have a core group of guys on offense that have now played together for a number of years.
“We do expect to hit the ground running on that side of the ball, and I know he is very excited about returning to the playing field and getting over this injury. We do have high expectations for him and the offense this season.”
The Browns open the season on September 8 against the Dallas Cowboys.
J.R. DeGroote covers the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide sports as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SB Nation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
