CLEVELAND, Ohio — Deshaun Watson’s concussion didn’t just take him out of Sunday’s game in New Orleans. It handed the starting quarterback decision to the NFL’s protocol system before anyone in the Browns organization had any real say in the matter.
The timing is everything. Watson took a hit in Sunday’s game, was evaluated and cleared. But symptoms surfaced later, and by Tuesday he was placed in the protocol. That two-day gap turned a manageable situation into an almost impossible one.
“He was only placed in the protocol on Tuesday. Now, if he had been placed in the protocol on Sunday, then you have time to clear some of those hurdles,” Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot said on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast.