Deshaun Watson hasn’t touched the pigskin in months. Remember the last time he was under center on Oct. 20, 2024, against the Bengals? The QB suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture and was carted off the field. Now with several QBs on the team, they’ve forgotten the man who couldn’t escape the PUP. That hasn’t stopped him, however. When no one was watching, he worked hard on rehab and on his recovery.

He has been fighting his battles behind the scenes. For instance, back in April, he posted a video online, which documented his rehab at the Browns’ practice facility. “Everyone’s doubting me. Everyone don’t believe in me. Everyone don’t think that I can get back to where I was. But I know and I believe the work that I put in, what I believe in myself. The peace that I’ve been channeling these last couple months, I know I’m going to be way better than before,” Watson said. This came a week after Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam admitted that getting in Watson was a “big swing-and-miss”—something no NFL player would like to hear.

It has been months since then, and while fans don’t expect him to go anywhere until after the 2025-26 season, can he really get back into the groove? That remains to be seen, but he is willing to give it his best shot. In fact, in a new Instagram update, that’s exactly what he pointed at. In the video, the signal-caller was seen working in the gym, and the clip was accompanied by an audio which said: “A man who earns success the hard way never forgets the struggle. He remembers the nights with no sleep. The days full of doubt. And the silence when no one believed in him. He didn’t get lucky. He got focused. While others waited, he worked. While they talked, he built. His success wasn’t handed to him. It was earned in pain and sacrifice, and in silence. Now, that he’s here, he doesn’t need to speak.”

Watson captioned the video: “#FOCUSED 4OVE x MoreGLORY.”

Watson’s tenure with the Browns hasn’t been a success story, especially if we consider the $230 million the team invested in him. While there were glimpses of his talent, consistency wasn’t there. Whether he will join training camp, preseason, or regular season will all depend on HC Kevin Stefanski’s plans for him.

While he confronts his uncertain future, rookie QB Shedeur Sanders also got temporarily sidelined. What happened to him?

Is Shedeur Sanders injured?

Shedeur Sanders is another name who faces many doubts. As the 5th-round rookie, he’s at the tail end of the QB race. However, his performances in camp have been exceptional. Especially on Days 3 and 4, where he topped the charts compared to his fellow quarterbacks. But most of the action he’s been seeing is with the third string, while Dillon Gabriel is getting reps in with the first team. So Stefanski seems to have made his choice among the rookies clear.

But the recent update on Sanders’ health doesn’t help his case (more so after Kenny Pickett pulled his hamstring). According to Adam Schefter, “Browns QB Shedeur Sanders is being held out of team drills today due to what the team is calling shoulder soreness.” This happened on Saturday after he complained of arm soreness to the team’s medical staff during early-practice individual drills. He was also later evaluated that afternoon.

Sanders had participated in the team’s previous eight sessions. However, this isn’t the first injury concern in his career. He suffered a fractured back at the end of the 2023 season after taking 52 sacks behind a struggling offensive line. So it seems the Browns are playing it safe with Sanders and letting him rest his sore arm. The QB will have to prioritize his health and fitness before he can get back.