Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson won’t be playing against the Seahawks this Sunday, but it’s not because he doesn’t want to be in the lineup.
The question of whether Watson wants to play has bandied about since he was scratched from the lineup with a right shoulder injury in Week Four and it has come up again after his brief return to the lineup last weekend. Watson told reporters at a press conference on Thursday that he thought he was ready to return after missing two full games, but found that he “just didn’t have the strength to go out there and play a complete game” after taking a big hit early in the win over the Colts.
Watson was later asked about the conjecture about his desire to be on the field.
“Why wouldn’t I want to play? I just worked my ass off for two years to get back to playing, so why wouldn’t I want to play? This is what I’ve been doing since I was six years old, so why wouldn’t I want to play” I see the same things, I see all the narratives, this and that,” Watson said. “All that stuff is just trying to cause controversy and commotion. I’m fine. I’m happy. I’m not happy with the injury. I’m in a great space mentally, I’m in a great space spiritually.”
Watson said anything that’s said about him that doesn’t come from him is “bullshit” and said that there are “no negative vibes” around the Browns despite the disappointment about the rotator cuff injury. He said he’s now working to “get the pain away and try to get back on the field as soon as possible,” but it will be Week Nine at the earliest before he’ll be back on the field with the team.
