Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was carted off the field in the second quarter of Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Bengals after suffering what is feared to be a season-ending torn Achilles, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game that Watson would undergo further testing to confirm the nature of the injury, but it "looks like" a season-ender.
Watson abruptly fell forward to his knees after dropping back to pass on the play. Slo-mo replays appeared to show something pop on his lower right calf, and Watson stayed hunched over on his knees for some time as the Browns' medical staff gave him attention on the field.
The Browns announced after halftime that Watson would not return.
Cincinnati held a 7-0 lead over Cleveland upon Watson's exit.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson entered the game following Watson's departure, filling in on an afternoon where the Browns declared Jameis Winston inactive as the team's emergency third QB. The second-year QB went on to lead the Browns' first scoring drive of the afternoon, which ended on a Nick Chubb touchdown run -- the running back's first in 398 days. A missed PAT prevented Cleveland from tying the game, however.
Thompson-Robinson later suffered a finger injury in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Winston. Rapoport reported that Thomspon-Robinson is not believed to have suffered a major finger injury but how he responds to treatment and how he can grip the football will determine his availability, per a source.
Stefanski didn't say after the game who would be Cleveland's starting QB going forward in the event that Watson is lost for the season, as the team is awaiting more tests on DTR's injury to his throwing hand.
Watson was having his most efficient game of the season before the injury, completing 15 of 17 passes for 128 yards.
Watson is currently in the third year of a five-year, $230 million fully-guaranteed contract he signed after he was traded from the Houston Texans to the Browns in March 2022. He is due to make $46 million in 2025 and 2026.
The 29-year-old signal-caller has failed to make the impact that Cleveland had hoped for when the team sent three first-round draft picks and two other selections to Houston to acquire a QB in Watson who had made the Pro Bowl in three of his first four seasons before he sat out the entire 2021 campaign amid a trade request and allegations of sexual misconduct in massage sessions.
Watson was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season and fined $5 million for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy. In the six games following his suspension in 2022, Watson did not look like his former self, completing a career-worst 58.2 percent of his passes.
The Browns QB started just six games during an injury-marred 2023 season that necessitated season-ending shoulder surgery last November, and his struggles continued into 2024.
Watson entered Sunday with just five touchdowns in six games for the now 1-6 Browns, who have failed to score 20 or more points in a game this season.