Deshaun Watson expected to start upon return

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The suspended Cleveland Browns quarterback is expected to be the starter when he returns.

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry spoke with the media Tuesday and provided an update about the status of quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson will be the Browns starter upon his return.

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This is hardly earth shattering news as this has been the plan all along. Cleveland is currently 3-5 on the year with Jacoby Brissett as their interim starter. Brissett has performed admirably and has been able to manage the Browns offense in a more efficient manner than last year’s starter.

When Deshaun Watson does return the assumption is that the offense will have a few more wrinkles to it with an expanded playbook. Watson is one of the best quarterbacks in the league when he is on the field. The main concern when it comes to Watson’s play on the field is the time between starts.

It has been nearly two calendar years since Deshaun Watson last played and rust will be a factor. While he will be eligible to practice soon there is not a true way to simulate a real game. That is before mentioning that his first opponent will be his former team (Houston) on the road. It will be a hostile environment for on and off the field reasons.

Cleveland is currently on their bye week after not being involved in Monday’s trade deadline festivities.

Browns quiet at deadline

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The Cleveland Browns did not make any moves at the trade deadline despite being rumored to be listening on multiple players.

It was an active trade deadline across the NFL with a record amount of trades made on deadline day. The Browns were not part of that trade flurry. Cleveland decided to stand pat and not trade for or away any players at a very active deadline.

This lack of movement comes after the Browns were reported to be listening to offers for Greedy Williams and Kareem Hunt. Reports on the latter even went further as it became known that the Browns were looking for a fourth round pick for Hunt. It was quite clear that teams were willing to make deals and yet Cleveland did nothing. There was even some speculation that Jack Conklin could be on the move, but again nothing happened.

While Cleveland is technically still alive it seems like the team should have done something one way or the other. The rest of their schedule is a gauntlet that will more than likely keep the out of the playoffs. This combined with their uneven play and inability to finish games will make winning down the stretch quite difficult. Considering this a combination of buying and selling would have been beneficial to the future of this team. There are positions of depth (running back) that could have been dealt from. Additionally there is a position group (defensive tackle) that is simply not good enough. Either way the reality is that they should have done something, anything to change things up. Standing pat and keeping the status quo is just incredibly disappointing.

Four Guardians win Gold Gloves

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The Cleveland Guardians have four Gold Glove Award Winners.

Five members of the Cleveland Guardians were finalists for a Gold Glove and four ended up coming away with the award. Andres Gimenez, Shane Bieber, Myles Straw, and Steven Kwan won a Gold Glove at their respective positions. The lone finalist not to win was third baseman Jose Ramirez.

Defense was a trademark of the Cleveland Guardians this season so the MLB high four Gold Glove winners is hardly a surprise. In addition to leading all of baseball in Gold Gloves, this was a franchise record for the Guardians.

Notes about the winners

Steven Kwan is just the second rookie in team history to win a Gold Glove, the first being Sandy Alomar. Kwan is also the with rookie outfielder to win the award, the most recent being Luis Robert in 2020.

Myles Straw joins Kwan as the first Cleveland outfielders to win a Gold Glove since Grady Sizemore in 2008.

Andres Gimenez is the second Guardians second baseman to win a Gold Glove in the last three seasons (Cesar Hernandez 2020).

Shane Bieber is the first Cleveland pitcher to win a Gold Glove since Rick Manning in 1976.