Deshaun Watson speaks to the media after the Browns hand Indianapolis a 39-38 loss on Sunday. Watson left the game in the first quarter after re-aggravating his injured shoulder. He finished the day 1-5 for five yards and an interception.
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00:00 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:29 Conversation you have with Kevin and kind of take us through what's going on there.
00:33 No, just medical decision with the staff and everyone else.
00:37 That's part of making that decision.
00:39 And they felt like the decision was best to let PJ go in and finish the game.
00:45 The mission of the team.
00:48 Did you feel like you had a grave in the shoulder anywhere?
00:51 I'm not sure.
00:53 We'll figure that out tomorrow.
00:54 Did you try to throw it all out?
00:56 No, I did it. Once they told me that, the decision was pretty much made.
01:00 So will you have an MRI tomorrow, kind of look at the shoulder again and make sure everything is okay?
01:05 I'm not even sure.
01:08 I know once I go in tomorrow, whatever protocols we have, I'm just going to follow the protocols and go from there.
01:16 Were you hit on the shoulder?
01:18 Yes, sir.
01:19 And before that happened, it looked like you had a slow start.
01:23 You think that was just from two weeks off?
01:26 There were only a few passes.
01:27 There were only five passes.
01:28 One was a screen, a deep ball that got picked off.
01:32 Another one was a takedown.
01:35 And another one I got hit.
01:37 You want to consider that a slow start.
01:39 It's four quarters, so I don't think you want to take two or three series and make that a slow start.
01:46 You've got to play 60 minutes.
01:47 Did you fight him a little bit on that?
01:49 I mean, did you push back on him keeping you on the sidelines?
01:53 Did you really want to go back out there and continue to play the game?
01:56 Of course.
01:57 I want to compete in the Confederates.
01:59 I want to go out there and try to help the team as much as possible and go out there and play and perform and compete.
02:03 But, you know, the decision was best for the team, and they felt that was the best.
02:10 And, you know, P.J. did a great job of finishing the game, and everyone else played a happy job and get the win.
02:16 Was there any point during the play when you rolled out to your left and tried to throw that you knew you might be putting yourself in jeopardy?
02:24 No, I wasn't thinking that.
02:26 I got told you guys, maybe not you, excuse me, but I got told immediately before, like, you know,
02:32 "I'm going to step on the field. I don't want to have anything holding me back and be handicapped."
02:37 And, you know, we had a great week of preparation, and we felt that it was the best opportunity for me to come out this week.
02:44 I just wasn't able to finish the game, so that's pretty much how it was.
02:49 Do you expect to start in Seattle?
02:51 I'm not sure. We'll see.
02:53 Did you have to go back into the tent again to have the possible head injury checked?
02:58 Like, first it was the shoulder and then the head?
03:00 Did that one come into play?
03:02 Well, the head thing caught me off guard, and I was going to pull it off with a concussion until I got on the tent.
03:08 So, yeah, it was just kind of that. I didn't even – I wasn't even worried about the head, it was mostly the shoulder.
03:15 So I guess my head hit off the turret, and the spotter from up top had calmed me down to get evaluated, and we did that.
03:23 So, from right up there, they told me I could do that the first time.
03:28 Kevin said, "I'm protecting our franchise quarterback." Did he explain it to you like that? Do you understand that explanation?
03:33 Of course. I understand it. Like I said before, I want to go out there and compete and help the team win, but at the end of the day,
03:42 this is a muscle and something that I genuinely need to go out there and perform at the highest level.
03:52 So, I understand where he's coming from, and we just got to make sure we follow what's best for the team.
03:59 Based on what you feel like or felt like after that hit, are you fairly confident that it didn't get any worse, or you're just totally not sure?
04:09 You know, praying that it wasn't anything worse. So, that's all I can do right now, just continue to sing prayers up and see what happens.
04:17 How did you feel after the two straight days of drawing and practice Thursday night? Did you feel good when you came out today and game started?
04:24 Yeah, I felt good. But, you know, it's hard to simulate practice in a real-life game. Everything in practice is pretty much controlled.
04:33 We felt good going into it. We let them come out and test it, and I just wasn't in the finish because of that.
04:41 Can you talk about just PJ's moxie on that last drive and bring you guys down and get a win?
04:47 That's PJ. He's a professional. He's been doing this for a long time. He's had a lot of experience.
04:53 But, you know, even throughout the week, me, PJ, and DTR, everything that me and Kevin are meeting on, I make sure PJ is meeting on it.
05:01 There's different things that Kevin is swaying to me throughout the week, and I go over there and tell PJ.
05:07 And PJ, you see this, and Poe might do this protection, this at the third.
05:12 So, you know, I just make sure that we're all on the same page because, you know, if something like this, you never know,
05:18 but if something like this was to happen, I want to make sure that he was ready and prepared and seeing the same thing.
05:23 I was seeing the same thing on communicating with the receivers the whole lot, you know, so we can all be on the same page to do what we did today and go out there and win.
05:32 Is this going to be a question of kind of like before, whether you can drive the ball and make all the throws this week before you feel like you're ready to go?
05:40 Is that kind of where it stands right now?
05:42 I'm not even sure, to be honest, to answer that question.
05:46 I'll have more information Monday and Tuesday once we go through, you know, all the protocols and, you know, the testing and stuff like that.
05:53 Then maybe Wednesday and Thursday we can try to answer that question, but I'm not sure right now.
05:57 How disappointing is this to you, given what you expected this to be today?
06:02 I mean, it's very disappointing.
06:04 Of course, not for the W, of course, you know, I'm always going to be happy for the team and us winning, but, you know, as far as versus the personal level, of course, it's very disappointing.
06:17 I'm working until after we get to this moment, the last three or four weeks, you know, it came up short.
06:23 So, you know, just right back to the drum board.
06:25 And, you know, it's part of the game, I guess.
06:28 We just have to deal with the adversity, but I'm going to keep my head held high, keep grinding and training and being there for my teammates.
06:34 Do you feel like everybody always wants to play and you guys are competitors, but I mean, do you feel like maybe you pushed a little bit and came back a week too early?
06:44 I'm not sure.
06:46 It's hard to say.
06:47 You know, like we mentioned before, everything was day to day and it was going off field.
06:51 And the last two days of practice was really, really good.
06:56 We thought that, you know, I was going to be able to finish the game, but you got to include the physical part of the game and get hit on and things like that.
07:03 And this was one of those plays where I got hit going to the ground and it just kind of happened that way.
07:09 Was it the hit or how you landed it?
07:12 I thought it was hit.
07:13 I hadn't even seen it play.
07:15 Like I said, I got hit and fell backwards.
07:17 It happened just like that.
07:19 Once I see it with the team, I have a better answer.
07:24 Thanks.
07:25 Thanks, John.
07:26 (sneezes)
07:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]