Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is expected to start against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday for the Week 7 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.
After returning to practice this week for the first time since Sept. 22 due to a shoulder injury in his throwing arm, Watson was listed as questionable on the final injury report.
However, after practicing for consecutive days, Watson is expected to start against the Colts, barring a setback, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is progressing in the right direction and took first-team reps in Saturday’s walkthrough, sources say, and Watson is expected to play Sunday against the Colts, barring a setback, for the first time since he suffered bruising around his rotator cuff. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Friday that Watson “looked good,” but that they wanted to see how he responded to a full workload. The team has taken a day-to-day approach, but sources say Watson ‘s shoulder felt good after practicing on consecutive days, which is another positive sign he’s trending the right direction. Watson, listed as questionable for Sunday, had said he wouldn’t play until he knew for sure he wouldn’t put the team at risk, and he appears to be there.
Though Watson has yet to regain his form from his Houston Texans days, his presence would make things more difficult for a Colts defense that will be without defensive tackle Grover Stewart.
The other option for the Browns would be leaning on former Colts quarterback P.J. Walker, who was the starter in Week 6 coming out of the team’s bye.
Regardless, the Browns are going to focus their attack on the ground with Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt, but having Watson available would allow them to lean a bit more into the passing attack if needed.
