Deshaun Watson, the Browns' $230 million QB, and his injury continue to be a mystery

Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns can say what they wish about Deshaun Watson now, but Stefanski also can't erase what he said about Watson and his shoulder injury on Oct. 2.

A day after Watson didn't play in a Browns loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Stefanski said Watson was medically cleared and it was his decision to not play.

"It wasn’t a matter of pain tolerance or anything. He just did not feel like he had his full faculties," Stefanski said.

That brings us to this week.

Watson didn't practice this week and was ruled out on Friday. That came after the Browns' bye week, when Watson could rest. P.J. Walker will start against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. If the Browns lose that game as heavy underdogs, they'll fall to 2-3 with their $230 million quarterback on the sideline.

It's all a bit unusual.

Deshaun Watson will miss another week

There's a lot about the Watson injury situation that we don't know and probably will never know. But what we do know if Watson was medically cleared about two weeks ago and still isn't playing with what has been reported as a rotator cuff contusion.

There's a difference in being medically cleared and being able to play. Maybe Watson simply can't throw the ball. But usually, when a player is cleared he plays. That's why it's a little surprising that Watson is still out. Two days before the Ravens game, Watson told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that he was OK and expected to play. After he was inactive, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic said some players were "kind of aggravated" he didn't play.

Just because a player expresses confidence that he'll play doesn't mean that much. Since Stefanski's initial comments the team has said all the right things, whether in news conferences or leaking it, about how Watson is doing everything to play but he can't drive the ball well enough to perform in a game. It still seems a bit out of the norm as a medically-cleared quarterback isn't ready to play, two weeks after he was cleared and told a reporter he expected to play on Oct. 1, as the team turns to far lesser options at quarterback in his absence.

It probably doesn't help that there's not a high opinion of Watson in the court of public opinion after the past couple years. He won't get much benefit of the doubt.

Watson still not ready to play

The NFL, for better or worse, has endless stories of players playing through pain and serious injuries. Watson's teammate David Njoku played through severe burns on his face from an accident at his home.

A player's salary shouldn't dictate whether he plays or doesn't play through pain, and we don't know if Watson's arm strength is diminished to a point that he would be less effective than his replacements Dorian Thompson-Robinson or P.J. Walker, but Watson's $230 million fully guaranteed deal probably does factor in the conversation. His contract has the most guaranteed money of any deal in NFL history. It wouldn't be a surprise if there are people in the Browns' facility wondering why their $230 million quarterback isn't playing. He is the same player who sat out a full season waiting for the Houston Texans to trade him, after all.

It will all likely work out soon, with Watson returning to play or the team announcing his injury is much more significant than it has revealed. Until then, the mystery will continue.