When the Browns acquired Deshaun Watson from the Texans ahead of the 2022 NFL season, the team was hopeful it had finally found its franchise quarterback after a decades-long search.
Instead, Houston's $230 million contract is starting to look more and more like a bust each week.
It's not necessarily because of Watson's performance. He has proven to be a decent starter this season, completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 1,146 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
Those numbers may not be world-beaters, but Watson has posted a 5-1 record in his six starts for Cleveland. His winning ways have helped the Browns to stabilize and become a contender in both the AFC North and wild-card races.
But now, the Browns will have to navigate life without Watson. The 28-year-old suffered a season-ending shoulder fracture in the team's Week 10 win over the Ravens, so Cleveland will be turning to Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker to keep the team afloat.
Certainly, this wasn't the plan that the Browns envisioned when they signed Watson. He had been a reliable weapon when on the field in Houston before the Browns acquired him; but since then, he has been anything but an ironman while dealing with injuries and suspensions.
MORE: Who will the Browns start with Deshaun Watson out?
Here's a look at the time that Watson has missed during his career due to both injuries and suspensions.
Deshaun Watson's timeline of injuries, suspensions
Nov. 2, 2017 — Amid a strong rookie season with Houston, Watson suffers a torn ACL in practice. That knocks him out for the rest of his rookie campaign, marking his first games missed due to injury in his NFL career. He finishes the season with a 3-3 record in six starts having completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,699 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Dec. 25, 2019 — After starting 31 consecutive games, Watson finally appears on the injury report again. He is dealing with a lower back sprain and there are questions about whether he will be able to play in Houston's regular-season finale against the Titans.
Watson dresses for the contest but A.J. McCarron gets the stat. Watson does not play in the game, marking his first non-appearance since the final game of the 2017 season, during which he tore his ACL.
Jan. 3, 2021 — Watson completes the 2020 NFL season having played in every game. He plays 99.8 percent of the Texans' snaps, and he has now missed just 10 total NFL games during his first four seasons.
Sept. 12, 2021 — An ongoing dispute with the Texans, as well as civil and criminal investigations into sexual misconduct and assault charges against Watson, leads Houston to keep the quarterback on the bench for its 2021 season opener. At this point, it isn't clear whether Watson will play for the Texans again.
MORE: What to know about the sexual assault allegations against Deshaun Watson
Jan. 9, 2022 — Watson continues his pseudo-holdout from the Texans and ends the 2021 season without having played a down for the team. He remained inactive for the whole season, missing all 17 regular-season games for the four-win Texans. That positioned Houston with a high selection in the 2022 NFL Draft and also set the Texans up to trade Watson during the offseason — if they could find a taker.
March 18, 2022 — Watson is traded to the Browns along with a 2024 sixth-round pick in exchange for the Browns' first-round picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024, a third-round pick in 2023 and two fourth-round picks in 2022 and 2024. The haul is massive for the Texans, as they didn't have to sell as low as many believed they would need to on Watson.
Meanwhile, the Browns not only pay a hefty draft-pick price for Watson, but they also give him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. That rubs NFL owners the wrong way given the allegations of abuse surrounding Watson.
August 18, 2022 — After a prolonged offseason saga, Deshaun Watson and the NFL agree to a settlement in the quarterback's suspension case. He was originally given a six-game ban for violating the league's personal conduct policy but commissioner Roger Goodell appealed the decision to push for a season-long suspension of Watson.
Ultimately, the two sides settled on an 11-game ban that would allow Watson to return in Week 13 of the 2022 NFL season. That poised Watson to miss more games in his first season in Cleveland than he did in his first four years in Houston, combined.
MORE: Explaining the settlement between the NFL, Deshaun Watson to allow QB to play in 2022
Dec. 4, 2022 — Watson makes his return to the NFL for the first time since the final game of the 2020 NFL regular season. He completes 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards and an interception in Cleveland's 27-14 win over Houston.
Jan. 8, 2023 — Watson finishes the season making his sixth consecutive start for the Browns. He completes the campaign with a 3-3 record as a starter but showcases a form that was a far cry from his career-best 2020 season with the Texans.
Note: The stats below are on a per-game basis.
| Stat | Deshaun Watson (2020) | Deshaun Watson (2022) |
| Comp. % | 70.2 | 58.2 |
| Passing yards | 301.4 | 183.7 |
| Pass TDs | 2.1 | 1.2 |
| INTs | 0.4 | 0.8 |
| Passer rating | 112.4 | 79.1 |
| QBR | 63.7 | 40.4 |
Sept. 10, 2023 — Watson makes his first Week 1 start since the 2020 NFL season. It is anticipated that he will be the team's year-long starting quarterback and that he will progress after having a full offseason to ingratiate himself into the Cleveland offense.
Oct. 1, 2023 — Watson misses Cleveland's 28-3 loss to Baltimore while dealing with a shoulder injury. Rookie backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson struggles in place of him and is ultimately benched in favor of P.J. Walker the following week.
MORE: How much is Deshaun Watson making the rest of the year?
Oct. 15, 2023 — Watson once again misses a game with a shoulder injury. Walker starts in place of him as Cleveland pulls off a 19-17 upset of the well-regarded 49ers.
Oct. 22, 2023 — Watson returns to action against the Colts, but he doesn't last long. He completes just 1 of 5 passes for 5 yards and an interception before exiting the game because of his balky shoulder. He doesn't return to action and watches Walker lead the team to another win.
Oct. 29, 2023 — Watson misses his third full game of the season with an injured shoulder. The Browns narrowly lose to the Seahawks on the road 24-20.
Nov. 5, 2023 — After missing a majority of the last four games, Watson returns to the field and helps guide the Browns to an easy, 27-0 win over the Cardinals. He lasts the whole game and looks healthy enough to keep starting.
Nov. 12, 2023 — Watson suffers a new shoulder injury and an ankle injury against the Ravens in Week 10. He plays through the injuries and helps lead Cleveland to an unlikely come-from-behind 33-30 victory to bring them within a game of first place in the AFC North. That is the last game action Watson logs in 2023.
MORE: Why did the Browns trade Joshua Dobbs?
Nov. 15, 2023 — The Browns announce that an MRI revealed that Watson not only has a high-ankle sprain, but he also has a broken bone in his shoulder. He needs surgery to repair the latter issue and will miss the remainder of the season because of it.
As such, Watson's second season with the Browns ends with him having completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 1,115 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Most importantly, he led the Browns to a 5-1 record in his six starts.
But now, he'll be watching his team try to make it to the playoffs without him; that's something that has happened often during his time with the Browns.
Deshaun Watson games missed with Browns, Texans
Because of injuries and suspensions, Watson will have only played in 12 of a possible 34 regular-season games in two seasons with the Browns. His record of 8-4 in those starts is solid, but to fully live up to his deal, he must stay on the field moving forward.
Even when factoring in his lost season of 2021, Watson missed far fewer games per season while he was with the Texans. He missed 27 over a five-year span; comparatively, he has missed 22 for the Browns in just two years.
| Deshaun Watson | Games missed per year |
| with the Texans | 5.4 |
| with the Browns | 11 |
The Browns will hope that this shoulder surgery and time off will allow Watson to get fully healthy for next season. But if he continues to be unreliable both on and off the field, then the team could live to regret this contract even more than it already does.
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