Browns’ Watson back from shoulder injury to face Cardinals who are still keeping their QB plans secretive
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CLEVELAND – Through sheer luck, some questionable officiating and a strong defense, the Cleveland Browns have somehow survived without their franchise quarterback for the past month.
The Arizona Cardinals haven’t been nearly as fortunate.
As the teams get ready to play Sunday, there are few definitive answers about the quarterback situations for the Cardinals (1-7) or Browns (4-3).
Arizona is awaiting Kyler Murray’s return from a knee injury that prematurely ended his 2022 season while Cleveland hopes that Deshaun Watson’s sore shoulder won’t turn a promising season into another painful one.
On Friday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Watson will make just his second start in five weeks. The 28-year-old looked stronger and more confident while practicing three straight days. He and the Browns think he’s ready.
“He had a really good Wednesday, really good Thursday, really good Friday,” Stefanski said. “He’s comfortable, and he looks good.”
Only one thing is certain: the Cardinals will have a new quarterback this week after trading Joshua Dobbs, who coincidentally spent last season and most of training camp with the Browns, to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.
Dobbs’ departure after starting Arizona’s first eight games is either a precursor to Murray coming back for the first time since tearing his ACL on Dec. 12 or the Cardinals getting a look at rookie Clayton Tune, a fifth-round pick from Houston who has thrown just one pass in his NFL career — on a fake punt.
Murray, who is 2-0 against the Browns, was a full participant in practice this week, and by all accounts the dynamic two-time Pro Bowler looked ready. But first-year coach Jonathan Gannon wouldn’t commit to Murray playing, and with Arizona’s season going nowhere, there’s no reason to rush.
Also, the fact that it’s a road game against the NFL’s top-ranked defense might sway Gannon into keeping Murray on the shelf another week.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re doing the best thing for the team and the best thing for Kyler,” Gannon said Friday. “That’s how he plays into it. But he’ll have a big part in saying to me, to us, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go, I want to play football.’ And we’re still working toward that.
“He knows he needs to do certain things and keep stacking good days, keep getting reps, playing the position to be ready to play.”
