Deshaun Watson’s injury celebrations felt similar to a moment worse than what happened 20+ years ago. At least Michael Irvin was a visiting player when Eagles fans cheered his career-ending neck injury in 1999. That moment became the standard for fan cruelty in the NFL. Watson plays for the home team, and the cheers against him are coming from his own city.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
After eight weeks of regular NFL action, the Cleveland Browns officially announced that Deshaun Watson entered the concussion protocol on Wednesday morning, November 4, 2026, releasing a formal team statement.
“During the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Steelers. Deshaun took a helmet-to-helmet hit,” the Browns statement read. “The ATC spotter called down to the sideline, and the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant (UNC) administered a gameday concussion evaluation. Deshaun was cleared by the UNC and returned on the Browns’ next offensive series.”
The game was still scoreless early in the first quarter when this happened. A roughing the passer penalty was also issued, keeping the Browns’ drive alive.
“As part of the protocol, the team’s medical staff evaluated him again postgame, passed his evaluations, and was cleared. On Tuesday morning, he reported to the medical staff that he began experiencing concussion symptoms Monday night and was immediately placed in the concussion protocol,” the statement concluded.
While the Week 8 hit against Steelers’ Jaquan Brisker triggered the protocol entry, analysts point out that unsustainable physical punishment has paved the way for this vulnerability.
Watson has been sacked an NFL-high 33 times through just eight games this season. The Steelers game alone accounted for 8 sacks against Watson, tying his career high for a single game. Facing that volume of constant impact, especially for a 31-year-old quarterback working his way back from severe past lower-body injuries, drastically increases the cumulative trauma leading to head injuries.
As things stand, there is no definitive return date for Deshaun Watson, as his timeline depends entirely on how quickly he progresses through the NFL’s strict 5-step concussion protocol.
However, since he was placed in the protocol on Tuesday, November 3, it is highly unlikely he will clear all five steps in time for the Week 9 game against the New Orleans Saints. Due to this, Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel will likely start against the Saints, and as it seems, the netizens are quite happy to see Watson getting replaced with Sanders.
“Shedussy time baby!” a user wrote under the Browns announcement post on X.
It was clear that fans have been eager to see sophomore Shedeur Sanders as the starting quarterback.
“Good news just keeps coming!” another fan expressed.
Despite Watson’s 5-3 winning record this season thus far, not many seemed to think this was a big loss.
“Finally, I’m so tired of watching Watson on Sundays,” a netizen sharing his thoughts on watching Deshaun Watson through eight weeks of the season.
Over these eight weeks, Watson has managed to throw seven touchdowns in total, averaging a decent 7.3 yards per attempt.
“Rest up 4, we in good hands don’t you worry. #Wristup [Sanders’ signature celebration],” another user expressed his confidence in Shedeur Sanders to lead the offensive unit.
Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders were both part of an intense QB1 battle ahead of the 2026 season, where Watson earned the position, and Sanders was given the QB2 role.
In Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers (Nov 1), while Watson was evaluated on the sideline following a helmet-to-helmet hit incident, Sanders was subbed in and completed 2 of 2 passes for 2 yards. Before that, in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers (Sept. 27), he also made a brief appearance, completing his lone pass attempt for 0 yards.
The Cleveland Browns are yet to make an announcement about their potential QB1 for the New Orleans Saints game on November 8.