The Cleveland Browns are currently 5-3 in the regular season, and they have a real chance of making the playoffs right now. But when it comes to Week 9, there is some real uncertainty looming over the team.
Deshaun Watson was revealed to have been a late addition to the concussion protocol on Wednesday before Week 9, which put his chances of playing this week in doubt. But there was still time to practice and be good to go.
However, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com shared a big update from the Browns’ Thursday practice. Watson is once again not practicing, which makes his odds of playing in Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints very low.
Deshaun Watson not looking likely to play in Week 9 after latest practice update
“Browns Deshaun Watson (concussion) didn’t practice again today on Thursday of Saints week. Shedeur Sanders very likely to start,” Cabot reports.
This is a significant update on the Browns’ starting quarterback, as Watson not being out at practice on Thursday is a very strong indicator that Sanders will be the team’s starting quarterback for Week 9.
Cleveland has yet to rule Watson out, but it would not be a surprise if he were to miss this week against the Saints as he deals with a concussion.
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Sanders is now likely to be the Week 9 starter for Todd Monken, which should be a very interesting game considering they face a struggling Saints team coming off their Week 8 bye.
Watson is unlikely to play at this rate, especially after this Thursday’s update. Sanders will take over, with Dillon Gabriel the new backup and Taylen Green becoming the emergency third quarterback as Watson likely sits for a week.
Considering the news coming out of the Browns practice facility the past two days, it would be a bit of a surprise to see Watson good to go. Nothing is official just yet, but it’s better to assume the Browns will be rolling with Sanders over Watson this week.
