Deshaun Watson and His Achilles: A Timeline
On October 20th, 2024, Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles against Cincinnati, thus ending his season. It was the third straight year Watson finished the year with six games played. The veteran was now looking at an extensive rehab. In January, Watson tore his Achilles again, making it another setback. He’s likely to miss significant time in 2025. All signs point to the veteran missing more games for the fourth straight year as a Cleveland Brown.
As a rookie, he tore his ACL halfway through the season. He sat out the entire 2021 season. Watson has missed 58 games out of a possible 128 games. If the former Clemson follows the new timeline recovery, he can return about halfway through the 2025 season. Watson is heading into year five as a member of the Browns. He signed a five-year contract worth 230 million dollars guaranteed. That has resulted in Watson playing 18 games through three seasons and likely missing more games in year four. If Watson cannot play in 2025, Cleveland will retain a large portion of the contract.
The 29-year-old has thrown for 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in Cleveland. Once a dynamic player and top-ten quarterback now has his career in jeopardy. Forget playing football, it may require at least six months before Watson can walk on a hike again. He’s a talented quarterback who struggled in the play-action scheme of Kevin Stefanski. Watson was used to a spread offense in Houston. They ran design to keep options out of the empty formation. In Houston, Watson was elite at navigating the pocket. He was able to make the safe throws and make consistent reads. In Cleveland, he saw ghosts and struggled to identify coverages. He’s also used to holding the ball, which is why he was sacked more often than not. It will be key for Cleveland to have Watson consistently get the ball out faster and make quicker decisions with the football. It is an adjustment easier said than done. Watson was great at adjusting the plays in Houston and in Cleveland, but rarely did that happen. Once compared to Michael Jordan, now his career is at stake.
