Week 2 was a rough one for the Cleveland Browns. Not only did they lose 26-22 to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, but likely lost star running back Nick Chubb for the season due to a devastating knee injury. When it comes to quarterback Deshaun Watson, he was in the spotlight not just for his play, but also his actions toward an official.
During the game, Watson was yelling towards the Steelers sideline after being flagged for a facemask on linebacker Kwon Alexander but was separated by numerous officials. Watson shoved one of the referees who was standing in front of him out of the way as he continued to talk in the Steelers' direction. Watson wasn't issued a penalty for the shove but did have two face mask penalties in the game. That had the NFL world questioning if the league would step in and issue a suspension.
ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio tweeted out on Tuesday morning that a source told them of a potential Watson suspension "All plays will be evaluated and assessed today."
Will Browns QB Deshaun Watson be suspended for shoving referee on MNF?
An answer would arrive a couple of hours after ProFootballTalk's tweet, courtesy of NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero. The NFL told Pelissero that officials are to maintain order on the field and sometimes, "there is inadvertent contact between players and officials." With that, officials felt "the contact did not rise to the level of a foul."
Pelissero followed up in another tweet that there will be no discipline for Watson for shoving the official but says he could be fined for his two face mask penalties. All in all, Watson will play for Cleveland in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans.
Will Deshaun Watson play next week?
Watson had a rough outing overall in Pittsburgh on Monday night. His first pass of the game was intercepted by Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith and returned for a touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter, Watson fumbled the football after a sack by Highsmith, which was recovered and returned by pass rusher T.J. Watt for the game-winning touchdown.
In the 26-22 loss, Watson completed 22-of-40 pass attempts for 235 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while running for 22 yards on six carries.
After shoving an official, Watson will not be disciplined by the NFL. He'll be starting in Week 3.
