Browns' Andrew Berry Shares Latest on Deshaun Watson Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery
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00:00 Morning, everyone. Okay. As you guys read in the statement that
00:25 we issued this morning, you know, Deshaun, he sustained a
00:30 new injury in the second quarter of the Baltimore game
00:32 this past Sunday. A fracture in his throwing shoulder that's
00:37 gonna require season-ending surgery. The good news is, you
00:41 know, we expect the surgery to go well and for him to be ready
00:44 for the start of the, you know, the 2024 season. You know,
00:48 obviously, we are, you know, very disappointed and
00:51 devastated for Deshaun especially given all that he
00:55 has battled and gone through, you know, medically, you know,
00:58 this season and especially in light of, you know, how well
01:01 he's played since, you know, since his, you know, most, you
01:04 know, most recent most recent injury. You know, one of the
01:09 things that I think about though with last Sunday is it
01:14 was just such like an incredible testament to his
01:17 physical and mental toughness. You know, he was already
01:19 playing with a high ankle sprain and then, you know, one
01:23 of the things that that we've learned as we talk to the docs
01:26 of the past 48 hours is in the infrequent event that this
01:31 injury occurs with a thrower in their in their throwing
01:34 shoulder, you know, usually, it's restricts the mobility.
01:39 There's so much pain that they can't continue to throw. So,
01:42 for Deshaun to play, call it two and a half quarters at a
01:47 really high level against, you know, one of the best defenses
01:50 in the league, you know, with this injury, you know, plus the
01:53 high ankle, it really is an incredible display of a
01:57 physical and mental toughness, you know, on on on his part.
02:03 You know, moving forward, here's here's here's kind of
02:05 what I know how how we are approaching, you know, things
02:08 moving forward. We really look at this as an incredible
02:12 challenge and opportunity for our organization and we have,
02:17 you know, obviously gone through a lot over the first
02:19 nine weeks. I think one of the things I I talked about, you
02:22 know, during the bye week is, you know, the ability to
02:25 overcome adversity and specifically in-game adversity,
02:28 you know, throughout the season and that's probably one of the
02:30 things I'm most proud of with the group to date is it's been
02:33 our ability to do so over the first nine games and on Dally,
02:36 right? We have a, you know, we're going to have another
02:39 obstacle to overcome as we go to the next, you know, eight
02:42 games of the season but because of those experiences, you know,
02:47 we really do have an organization. This is, you
02:49 know, players, coaches, and staff that have grown, you
02:52 know, Teflon skin and cast iron stomachs and I'm proud of that
02:56 and we're going to have to to to rely on that, you know, as we
02:59 move forward but it really does present a fantastic
03:04 opportunity for us as we're at sit here at six and three in
03:07 the middle of the division race in the middle of the playoff
03:09 push going into the last eight games going into the last eight
03:12 games of of you know, of the season and lastly, before I
03:17 open up for questions, you know, one of the things that that
03:20 Kevin talks about often is that, you know, football is the,
03:26 you know, the ultimate team sport and it's never about one
03:29 individual and undoubtedly, the quarterback position is very
03:32 important but you know, it is a team sport and there are a lot
03:36 of individuals that will contribute to our success and
03:40 we've seen that over the first 9 weeks and we're excited to
03:43 be able to you know, meet that challenge head on as we go into
03:47 the second half of the season and that really starts with us
03:50 being focused on doing the things necessary to be one and
03:53 oh against PISPR this week. So, with that, I'll open up for
03:56 questions. Yeah, Jake, I will let Kevin address that when you
04:02 guys, you know, meet with him, meet with him later today.
04:04 We're obviously, you know, have a ton of faith in that room
04:07 with with PJ and Dorian but I'll let him address that with
04:09 you guys this afternoon. Yeah, so so Tony, like as with any
04:16 any part of the roster, we're always open to anything that
04:18 helps improve the team. We do believe in carrying three
04:22 quarterbacks between the active and the practice squad and what
04:25 that distribution looks like really depends on the player.
04:28 So, the one thing I will share is that, you know, we will add
04:31 a quarterback at, you know, at some point in the near future.
04:35 You know, what that looks like will be a little bit to be
04:37 determined. From what the doctors told you, did the
04:39 previous injury have make him any more susceptible to
04:42 something like this or is this completely different? Yeah,
04:45 Tom, this is a completely new injury. This has nothing to do
04:48 with, you know, what he experienced around the year. It
04:51 really was the result of a, you know, result of a hit in the
04:54 second quarter of the game. So, this is this has nothing to do
04:57 with the previous injury. Scheduled? The surgery is in the
05:00 midst of being scheduled. Yes. Did he fall on the shoulder or
05:03 was it like from a direct hit to it? You know, Deshaun told
05:06 us that he he took a hit. It's a little bit unclear the exact,
05:10 you know, play that had happened but he he remembers
05:12 kind of taking it, taking a hit. Again, to to his credit,
05:16 he really didn't start, you know, even really feeling it to
05:20 the second half of the game and then he didn't even really
05:22 raise it until, you know, well, you know, well after the game.
05:25 So, again, it's an incredible display of physical toughness
05:28 for him to to to play with that and not even notice it given
05:32 the severity of the injury. Knowing that he was already
05:36 beat up, why not pursue the quarterback? Yeah, you know,
05:39 again, we we we feel good about, you know, we feel good
05:42 about the room. You know, Deshaun, you know, obviously
05:45 before this new new injury, he was, you know, he's completely
05:49 healthy in a good spot. It's football. Guys do get hurt, you
05:52 know, you know, playing it and so, you know, like I said,
05:56 we're gonna move forward the room and and continue to win
05:58 games. Andrew, I know hindsight's 2020 but
06:01 considering what Josh Dobbs has been able to do these last
06:04 couple of weeks, everyone is circling that trade that you
06:07 made. Just what was the driving force behind them? Was that
06:14 pick? Was that a savings or whatever? I know you can't go
06:18 back and undo anything but just considering everything that's
06:23 unfolded with the backup situation here, just do you
06:28 have any regrets? Yeah, Darryl, I'm not really focused on that
06:32 right now. Like, we do have a lot of confidence in our in our
06:34 current QB room. We're six and three and and focused on this
06:37 playoff push. We're focused on the Steelers. You know, there'll
06:41 be a time for, you know, reflection for, you know,
06:43 everything over the course of the year but that's really not
06:46 that's really not top of mind right now. Dobbs said recently
06:49 that his agent thought he might be traded back before the
06:52 deadline. Why didn't that happen? Yeah, I I can't speak
06:55 to that. I'm not familiar with those comments to be honest
06:57 Tony. Even though the trade deadline has passed, might
07:01 there be creative ways to acquire a veteran quarterback
07:07 who is on someone else's roster right now? I mean, are you
07:10 thinking outside of the box that you're going to do
07:12 anything that you can? You know, honestly, Mary Kay, our
07:15 focus is on our current room and like I mentioned, we will
07:18 at some point at a, you know, at a third quarterback that can
07:21 have a variety of forms but our focus is on our current room.
07:25 How do you feel about Dorian's progression this season and
07:29 where do you, how confident are you in him if he needs to come
07:32 up and play? We feel good with Dorian's progression. You
07:35 know, obviously, you know, he he did a nice job like I guess
07:40 going back to even May. Did a nice job throughout the spring.
07:43 Did a nice job throughout the preseason. He really had a
07:46 tough spart under some really difficult circumstances in the
07:49 first Baltimore game and we've seen him grow you know, really
07:52 every week since he's been with us. We think he's a talented
07:55 kid. He's very smart, very diligent. You know, as a
07:58 worker and we're pleased with this progress so far but you
08:01 know, we're going to, we're going to certainly need all
08:03 hands on deck as we move forward. They're giving you
08:05 like this specific injury that there's not a ton of history on
08:08 it for quarterbacks and their growing shoulders. So, what's
08:10 like the roadmap here especially like in terms of
08:12 recovery timelines and things like that? It's a good question
08:15 actually. I you know, I don't think this is the appropriate
08:18 setting for me to go into the specifics of the recovery
08:21 timeline other than to say that although it may be unusual for
08:24 a quarterback with a throwing shoulder, the medical process
08:29 moving forward is is very clear to us. It's very clear to
08:32 Deshaun. It's very clear to the docs and and we do feel really
08:35 good about him, you know, returning and and and playing
08:37 at the level that we're accustomed to. Are there any
08:39 other quarterbacks that you know of that have had this
08:41 injury that have come back from it? You know, that's
08:44 probably a better question for the doc. So, yes, it's not like
08:48 Deshaun's the first, you know, quarterback to suffer this
08:51 injury in his in his throwing shoulder but actually as
08:54 actually did say, you know, you usually do see it with, you
08:56 know, with other positions but you know, he should make a he
09:00 should make a strong recovery. I know we've talked to
09:02 Surgeon before about the rotator cuff. This is already
09:04 going in. Is there anything procedure related to the
09:07 previous injury that needs to be addressed? No. With with your
09:12 record and just the talent you guys have, the defense playing
09:16 the way it has, do you feel compelled to do everything you
09:20 can to to find out if there's a veteran, pre-agent quarterback
09:25 with an extensive NFL resume who you could possibly. We'll
09:29 always be open-minded, Nate but I think again, similar to what
09:33 I just told Mary Kay, really, our focus is with the guys in
09:35 the room, the guys on the on the team currently. We'll we'll
09:39 never say no to an opportunity that we think makes sense and
09:42 and can help the team but our focus is on the guys in the
09:44 room. Because you said Deshaun is going to be healthy coming
09:47 up to the trade deadline, did you consider making a trade at
09:50 all just to add insurance there? Yeah, I won't go into
09:53 the details of like we have a, you know, we have a, we're
09:55 pretty active. We have a lot of discussions about a lot of
09:58 different positions that can help the team but again, you
10:01 know, we do feel good about the room. Deshaun will have played
10:05 eleven games basically if you don't count the indie game over
10:09 three seasons and now he's going to be coming back from a
10:12 surgery to his throwing shoulder. What gives you
10:15 confidence that at any point he's going to be able given
10:18 that layoff to get back to the level that he was at before to
10:21 the level that is commiserate with the contract that you guys
10:24 have given him? Yeah, we feel good about Deshaun. We see how
10:27 talented he is. We saw, I mean, we could see it, you know,
10:29 since he returned from his his last injury. You know, the
10:33 level that he is able to play. He's smart. He's physically
10:37 tough. He's mentally tough. You know, he's he really is as
10:41 Kevin's mentioned, he's the leader of the team and we're
10:43 excited to get him back for 2024. Is it that he he played,
10:48 I think what was maybe his best game in a Browns uniform and
10:51 then have this injury and then have to kind of go back and
10:54 recover. I mean, you guys had to feel like he was maybe
10:57 hitting his stride. Yeah, we're disappointed for him. You know,
11:00 I mean, we we see how hard he works. We see how, you know,
11:03 how well he played and anytime that you lose really any player
11:08 to a season ending injury and then, you know, particularly
11:10 your starting quarterback, you know, it is disappointing but
11:14 at the same time, how we think about it internally is look, it
11:18 is a team sport and it takes everybody to have success and
11:22 it's going to be an incredible opportunity for us to go ahead
11:25 and continue to win games as we're right in the thick of
11:27 things at six and three. In terms of the of the fully
11:31 guaranteed $230 million contract, does fully guarantee
11:35 is that completely and this is for bookkeeping purposes more
11:38 so than anything. It's fully guaranteed. Ironclad, fully
11:41 guaranteed or is there any recourse in that contract
11:44 whatsoever in the event that as you move forward, things don't
11:49 go as everybody hopes they will. Although I don't normally
11:53 talk about contracts with that's guaranteed for skill
11:55 injury and cap. That's just typical purposes and you know
11:58 in the NFL when we talk about full guarantees. Is it true
12:01 that that Deshaun was fighting to to try to play through this
12:06 even after he found out what what he had and that he wanted
12:09 to finish out this season. That is true. Mary Kay. You know,
12:14 Deshaun is he's very competitive and you know, I
12:18 think there is like a natural element of like, well, you
12:20 know, I finished the game like can I can I keep you know, I
12:22 keep going but you know, part of our jobs and primarily part
12:25 of the docs job is to make sure that we don't put any player in
12:29 a position where you know, they're compromised. Just the
12:32 reality of it. This injury in a thrower and with the
12:36 repetitiveness of of of throwing a football, you know, a couple
12:40 hundred times a week, you know, realistically it could create
12:44 you know, significantly more problems for the shoulder and
12:48 make the injury that much more severe. So, this was a pretty
12:53 clear, you know, medical recommendation. You know, we
12:57 feel good about it and and ultimately, like I said, we
13:00 want to show him for a very long period of time and that's
13:03 the course of action we're going to take and you remember
13:06 what you said, injuries happen. We know that we know the way
13:10 Watson plays. His legs are a very big part of this game. How
13:14 is it that nobody argued that you need better insurance
13:17 behind him? Yeah. So, you're saying, you might repeat the
13:23 question one more time, Tony. Back up in place from the start.
13:26 Yeah. You know, again, again, Tony, we feel good about the
13:30 room. You know, I think those guys have stepped in, you know,
13:33 nicely for us to the first 9 weeks of the season. We look
13:36 forward to continue working with them and you know, our
13:38 focus is on being Pittsburgh. You guys wanted to go, you
13:41 know, you want to go to the Super Bowl this year. If when
13:44 you keep saying that you feel good about the room, do you
13:46 think that either TJ Walker or Dorian Thompson Robinson can
13:51 get you there? Yeah. You know, Mary Kay again, it's the
13:53 consummate team sport. It's not just going to be up to you
13:57 know, the quarterback. We have a lot of good players, a lot of
13:59 good coaches. We've navigated a lot of you know, ups and downs
14:03 throughout the first half of the season. We've navigated a
14:05 lot of adversity and we're going to continue to do so. You
14:08 know, regardless of the obstacles we face, you know,
14:11 that's our job and that's our mission. We're understanding
14:13 everything you said this morning about the opportunity
14:15 so it's fun to feel good about where the team is and the
14:19 quarterback room and that. This is pretty devastating blow to
14:24 Browns fans who are really excited coming off Sunday's
14:28 win. How do you guys organizationally, internally make
14:34 sure that this isn't as devastating a blow within that
14:39 locker room? I know it's a tough group of guys and they've
14:41 already been through a lot but losing someone of Deshaun's
14:46 talent at this juncture of the season with the hopes and
14:49 expectations that you had, how do you make sure that that
14:52 doesn't affect them? You know, I'll address your question
14:59 twofold. So internally, I've talked about it a little bit
15:01 over the past couple minutes like you know, we're
15:05 professionals. We understand that it's never great to see a
15:10 player of Deshaun's magnitude suffer a season ending injury
15:13 but at the same time, we've been through a lot of stuff,
15:16 you know, as a group and not just a lot of stuff this season
15:19 but over the past few years, you know, one of the things
15:24 that you know, I think about like particularly with like
15:28 Kevin, our head coach, I always tell Peter this like he has he
15:31 has three superpowers. His intelligence, his creativity,
15:34 and his emotional control and we've been through a lot and
15:38 you know, this is kind of another challenge and obstacle
15:41 and you know, our focus is on looking at the opportunity in
15:44 front of us like pity does us no good. You know, pity does
15:47 us no good internally and so that's not how we that's not
15:50 how we go about it. We we we remain laser focus on you know,
15:54 the task at hand especially given the fact that we have
15:57 eight more games in front of us, eight more regular season
15:58 games in front of us and we've got a big one coming coming to
16:02 town, you know, Sunday against the Steelers. I would say like
16:05 you know, externally with you know, with the fans, you know,
16:08 I think that's the the beauty of the NFL. That's the beauty
16:10 of it being a team sport and having those opportunities in
16:14 front of you. I think about you know, even most like recent
16:17 history. You think about you know, 2017 with the Eagles
16:21 where you know, they won a Super Bowl with the with the
16:23 backup quarterback or you even look at San Francisco last year
16:26 where they got down to their third string quarterback and
16:29 you know, made it to the NCAA championship game. So it'll
16:32 never be about one person again. We're devastated. We're
16:35 disappointed for Deshaun, but we're excited about what lays
16:39 in front of us because we have an opportunity to finish the
16:42 job with you know, the last one here, the rust that Deshaun
16:45 displayed coming out of the suspension and then you know,
16:50 obviously the injury this year. What makes you guys so
16:53 confident that he's going to get back to the guy that he
16:55 has originally trained for? Yeah, I think this is similar
16:58 to what I answered earlier. You know, we see him every day in
17:01 terms of his performance on the field, his preparation, his
17:04 physical mental toughness. You know, I already know his
17:08 attitude in terms of attacking the surgery and rehab. We
17:12 really do feel great about that position for us moving forward
17:15 with him. Our immediate concern is beating Pittsburgh this
17:18 week, but in terms of longer term, we're really happy to
17:21 have Deshaun as our starting quarterback. Alright. Thank you
17:24 guys.
17:27 Appreciate it.
17:31 Thank you.
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