The Cleveland Browns’ Week 12 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders will mark a first for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson will travel with the team and be on the sideline in Las Vegas, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. It will be his first road trip of the season as he continues recovering on the reserve/PUP list.
“Deshaun Watson will make his first road trip of the season and be on the sideline helping Shedeur Sanders in his NFL starting debut here against the Raiders, a league source tells cleveland.com,” Cabot said. “Watson, recovering from his re-ruptured Achilles repair, isn’t traveling just to help Sanders, but is finally healthy enough to be on the sideline for a game.”
Watson has not been cleared to practice yet this season but has been making an impact around the facility, particularly with the team’s young quarterbacks. Earlier this season, Browns quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave said the team missed having Watson around while on the road.
“I try to take myself out of the equation – I don’t need to be there hovering all over them … We miss him on the road,” Musgrave said in October. “It’s great to have his presence on the sideline for our young group.”
Browns May Not Clear Deshaun Watson for Return This Season
Heading out on the road with the team is another step in the right direction for Watson’s recovery. However, the team has not opened up his 21-day practice window and may not do so this season.
“My feeling right now, in a perfect world, they’ll wait until the offseason to put him on the practice field. They have to be careful that this is a revision of an Achilles and there isn’t a great reason to throw him into a football game on just three weeks of practice when he’s been out for so incredibly long. I think they’d like to bring him back slowly in OTAs, minicamp and not rush him into anything this year,” Cabot said during a recent appearance on 92.3 The Fan. “There might be a world where they decide, let’s open the window, put him on the practice field and see what he can do. He’d absolutely love that. He feels ready to go. But I think they’ll be very, very careful with him.”
Even if Watson returns to practice and is eventually placed on the active roster, there’s no certainty that he’d factor into the team’s quarterback equation. The Browns do not view him as a starting option, despite Watson being under contract through the 2026 season. Owner Jimmy Haslam has called the 2022 blockbuster move for Watson a “swing and miss.” That said, Watson is determined to prove he can still be a viable option despite his recent string of injuries.
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Can Make Statement Against Raiders
Sanders is making his starting debut against the Raiders. He stepped in for Dillon Gabriel against the Ravens during half time last week but completed just four passes for 47 yards and an interception.
But with a full week of prep and his first practice work with the starting offense, Sanders is looking to establish himself as a potential long-term option for the Browns.
“I know our fans have a lot of expectations and hope, and I would be doing a disservice to myself and disservice to the organization if I didn’t feel like I am the guy,” Sanders said this week. “I’m doing everything I need to prepare to be the best version of myself as possible. With the circumstances, everything got me sped up, and that’s great – you know, I like pressure in life. I’m just excited for everything. So, I feel like I’m the guy, I know I’m the guy, but you just have to be able to see. The game got to speak.”
The Browns have not won on the road this season. Cleveland is a four-point underdog against the Raiders.
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