Browns Rumors: Deshaun Watson Status vs. Seahawks TBD After MRI on Shoulder Injury

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is dealing with a strain in his subscapularis muscle, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, an injury that has left him day-to-day and puts his status for Sunday's matchup with the Seattle Seahawks up in the air.

Watson returned on Sunday but didn't last long, leaving the game after taking a big hit in the first quarter. He was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return, though head coach Kevin Stefanski played it safe and kept him sidelined for the remainder of the contest.

"I'm always going to be protective of my players, especially at the quarterback position," he told reporters. "Just felt like the right thing in that moment was to hold him out of that game."

Watson was just 1-of-5 for five yards and an interception in the quarter. It was only his fourth appearance of the season for the 4-2 Browns after missing the team's prior two games.

He told reporters he felt ready to play on Sunday in the 39-38 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

"Whenever I step on the field, I don't want to have any pain holding me back and be handicapped," he said. "We had a great week of preparation and we felt that it was the best opportunity for me to come back this week. I just wasn't able to finish the game."

It sounds as though the Browns may consider letting Watson play through the injury depending on how he progresses throughout the week, however, with Stefanski noting that Watson would have returned to Sunday's game had his backup, P.J. Walker, gotten injured.

"He's getting better, he's a competitive kid, he's working hard," he added of Watson.

What the 28-year-old quarterback hasn't done, however, is live up to the five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract the Browns signed him to ahead of the 2022 season. In 10 starts for the Browns over the past two seasons he's thrown for 1,785 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing just 59.6 percent of his passes while taking 32 sacks.

The Browns are 6-4 in those starts.

His injury status will be an ongoing story for these Browns as they seek to earn a playoff bid. It's been a tough year in that regard for Cleveland, as star running back Nick Chubb was already lost for the season with a knee injury.