Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.

He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.

Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s 21-14 loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.

The team feared Watson’s year was over and an MRI on Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery this week and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”

Watson’s injury is a blow to the Browns (1-6), who have lost five straight in a season that began with massive expectations after the team made the playoffs last year.

The short-term implications are that either Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston will take over as starter.

But Thompson-Robinson injured a finger on his throwing hand after replacing Watson on Sunday, and coach Kevin Stefanski was waiting to find out if the second-year QB can play this week against Baltimore.

It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke a bone in his throwing shoulder last year.

DOLPHINS’ TAGOVAILOA MIGHT START SUNDAY >> Tua Tagovailoa does not want to be the face of traumatic brain injuries in the NFL, but he knows that’s the reality confronting him after his latest concussion.

Speaking with reporters Monday for the first time since being diagnosed with the third concussion of his NFL career, the Dolphins quarterback said he was frustrated by having to sit on the sideline for the past four games, and he was just as aggravated about having to answer questions about his health for the second time in two years.

“Do I want to be known for this? No, I don’t,” Tagovailoa said. “But that’s the cards I’ve been dealt with given the history of it. So it is what it is.”

Tagovailoa has been cleared by medical experts to play football again after he collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin in Week 2 when he ran for a first down and then initiated the contact by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding.

He still technically needs to be cleared from the NFL’s concussion protocol before he returns, which could come after he practices on Wednesday. If everything goes well, coach Mike McDaniel said, the plan is for Tagovailoa to start Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

“Following the directive and opinion of medical experts, the reason why he’s coming back now is because the medical experts have deemed it safe for him to return,” McDaniel said. “I don’t mess with time lines or try to overcook the forecast. You lean on experts for matters of the career, and that’s what we’re doing here.”

Tagovailoa said he would not wear a Guardian cap, which is a protective soft-shell helmet cover that some players have started wearing during games. His teammate, De’Von Achane, wore one on Sunday after sustaining a concussion in Week 5.

RAIDERS QB O’CONNELL OUT 4 TO 6 WEEKS >> Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell is expected to be out four to six weeks with a broken thumb, a person close to the situation said Monday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Raiders have not made an announcement. O’Connell was injured in the first quarter of a 20-15 loss to the L.A. Rams.