Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the year with a shoulder injury, but the team is still 6-3 and currently the AFC’s No. 6 seed after beating the Ravens last week.
While the club’s quarterback situation is not great with P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the current options, General Manager Andrew Berry said in his Wednesday press conference that Cleveland has to keep moving forward.
“We’re professionals,” Berry said. “We understand that it’s never great to see a player of Deshaun’s magnitude suffer a season-ending injury. But at the same time, we’ve been through a lot of stuff as a group — and not just a lot of stuff this season, but over the past few years.
“One of the things that I think about, particularly with Kevin [Stefanski], our head coach … he has three superpowers: his intelligence, his creativity, and his emotional control. And we’ve been through a lot. And this is kind of another challenge and obstacle. And our focus is on looking at the opportunity in front of us.”
That’s likely part of why Berry did not really address the questions as to why the club traded now-Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs before the season started and then did not address backup quarterback at the trading deadline.
“Pity does us no good,” Berry said. “Pity does us no good, internally. And so that’s not how we go about it. We remain laser focused on the task at hand, especially given the fact that we have eight more games in front of us — eight more regular-season games in front of us. And we’ve got a big one coming to town Sunday against the Steelers.”
Improbable as it would be for the Browns to make a postseason run now, Berry noted that it’s been done before.
“That’s the beauty of it being a team sport and having those opportunities in front of you,” Berry said. “I think about even most recent history, you think about 2017 with the Eagles where they won a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback. Or you even look at San Francisco last year where they got down to their third-string quarterback and made it to the NFC Championship Game.
“So, it’ll never be about one person. Again, we’re devastated, we’re disappointed for Deshaun. But we’re excited about what lies in front of us because we have an opportunity to finish the job.”
