Jun 14, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) runs a play during minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Deshaun Watson’s participation in a teammate’s celebrity softball game on Saturday nearly went very wrong for the Cleveland Browns quarterback.
Watson took part in Saturday’s charity game, which was staged by tight end David Njoku, and spent at least part of the game playing first base. That was all well and good until he was knocked to the ground in a collision with tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden, who was playing second.
Fortunately for Watson and the Browns, the quarterback was unhurt.
#Browns Deshaun Watson just gave the crowd at David Njoku's softball game a scare. Playing 1st base, he caught a popup and collided w/#Browns TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, playing 2nd base. He got up and signaled he was fine, and has been greeting fans near the dugout.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) June 8, 2024
Mitchell-Paden, meanwhile, was understandably terrified that he had caused a serious injury to the franchise quarterback.
“When I found out he flipped, I was like, ‘Man, I hope I didn’t hurt him,’” Mitchell-Paden told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “I didn’t hear him saying, ‘It’s me, it’s me, it’s me’ so once I saw him in my periphery, I stopped and moved out of the way, but I’m glad he’s OK.”
Watson only played six games in 2023 due to a significant shoulder injury. In theory, he should be fine playing softball, but the Browns probably would have preferred to avoid that kind of scare.
Watson is healthy and highly motivated heading into 2024. He might want to skip charity softball matchups until the start of training camp, though.