Deshaun Watson Injury Makes Cleveland’s Joshua Dobbs Trade Look Even Worse

A pair of quarterback-related moves may have come back to bite the Cleveland Browns.

Deshaun Watson will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a fracture in his throwing shoulder, the team announced Wednesday. Watson has appeared in only 12 games since signing his unprecedented $230 million, fully guaranteed contract after being traded to Cleveland last year. And, in light of the 28-year-old’s latest injury, the Browns could sure use the QB it traded for nearly nothing ahead of the season.

Joshua Dobbs spent the summer in Cleveland before being shipped to the Arizona Cardinals, along with a 2024 seventh-round draft pick, in exchange for a 2024 fifth-rounder. The Tennessee product started eight games for Arizona while franchise QB Kyler Murray continued to recover from a torn ACL he suffered last season.

But Dobbs has been the talk of the NFL of late.

In yet another trade, Minnesota acquired Dobbs after starting quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending injury of his own. Some more bad-injury luck in Minnesota propelled Dobbs onto the field less than a week after the Vikings dealt for him at the NFL’s trade deadline.

The “Passtronaut” accounted for three touchdowns, including a game winner with 22 seconds remaining, in a Week 9 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Then, Dobbs followed that by throwing for 268 yards, running for 44 more and scoring two total touchdowns in Minnesota’s 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints last weekend.

“I did pinch myself,” Dobbs said after leading Minnesota to its second win in less than two weeks after joining the franchise. “It’s just been really cool being able to take it all in.”

The NFL has since celebrated Dobbs’ breakout by changing the header of the league’s X (formerly Twitter) account to a photo of the QB. Cleveland would seemingly welcome the type of production Dobbs is providing for Minnesota.

P.J. Walker and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson are the only other quarterbacks on Cleveland’s roster. And neither QB exactly lit up the stat sheet when they saw the field earlier this season as Watson was dealing with a different injury. Walker has completed 49 percent of his passes for 618 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions in five games this season, including two starts. Thompson-Robinson threw for 130 yards and three picks in a Week 4 start against the Baltimore Ravens.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said on Wednesday that Cleveland parted with Dobbs because of the franchise’s belief in Thompson-Robinson.

Now, it’s time to see if that belief will pay off. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on Wednesday that the rookie will start in Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Browns suddenly needing to turn to a backup QB, amid what Dobbs is doing in Minnesota, hasn’t gone unnoticed. Former NFL player Ross Tucker asked on X: “How bad do the Browns wish they still had Josh Dobbs right now?”

Sports anchor Mark Schwab said the team “screwed up” in its backup QB decision-making. And ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio said Cleveland should have been on the phone a couple of weeks ago to bring Dobbs back.

Dobbs recently said on his podcast that on the day of the trade deadline, his agent informed him he could be moved and listed the Vikings as a likely destination. Dobbs said he was told he could also be sent back to Cleveland.

“Today is about to be nuts,” Dobbs recalled about the deadline. “So I packed a bag just in case.”

Cleveland didn’t end up dealing for any Watson insurance, whether that would have been Dobbs or Jacoby Brissett, who started 11 games for the Browns last year and is a backup for the Washington Commanders. Florio has since reported that the Browns did not pursue Dobbs at the deadline. Cleveland may be paying for that now.

The odds of the Browns (6-3) making the playoffs went from 80 percent to 63 percent after Watson’s recent injury, according to ESPN analytics. And other AFC postseason hopefuls—including the Steelers, Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals—saw a boost in their respective chances.

“We really look at this as an incredible challenge and opportunity for this organization,” Browns General Manager Andrew Berry said Wednesday at a press conference.

Berry added that the Browns will add a third QB, although the focus will be on Walker and Dorian-Thompson to act in the three-time Pro Bowler’s absence. Since Watson signed his contract, he has earned $92 million despite playing in only six games each of the past two seasons. Watson was suspended for 11 games last season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after being accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women.

The Browns obviously felt comfortable enough with Thompson-Robinson to ship Dobbs to Arizona. And, to be fair, who saw this recent surge from Dobbs coming? But now Cleveland is on the financial hook for a highly paid, injured QB, and the team’s options to replace him amid a playoff race haven’t played promisingly enough to inspire much confidence at this point. Will that change? This weekend will be a hint.

Cleveland takes the field for the first time since Watson’s injury at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, in a Week 11 AFC North battle with the 6-3 Steelers.