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    Watson throws for 126 yards, loses fumble vs. CHI

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    Deshaun Watson completed 11-of-15 passes for 126 yards in Saturday’s preseason game against the Bears.

    It was an up-and-down outing for Watson, who led two scoring drives in the first half. At times, Watson looked on point and decisive with his throws. On the lone touchdown drive he led, Watson went 4-for-4 passing, with his biggest play coming on a 43-yard screen pass to Dylan Sampson. Unfortunately, he also lost a fumble on a strip sack by Jamree Kromah and went three-and-out during a two-minute drill. It was exactly the kind of performance we expected to see based on reports of how the Browns’ QB battle has gone so far this offseason.
Cronin talks Bears' season outlook, stadium move
Courtney Cronin joins Tony Reali to discuss the Chicago Bears potentially moving home games to Hammond, Indiana in the future and this season's outlook with a high-caliber offense.

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  • CLE Quarterback #4
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    Both Fowler and his colleague, Herm Edwards, complimented QB Deshaun Watson’s recent performances in both practice and preseason play. Per Fowler, Watson “has some momentum, not all of the momentum” at this time. His competitor, QB Shedeur Sanders, will start against the Bills this weekend.
  • CLE Quarterback #4
    We’d normally skip right past this, but it’s a notable quote given the open competition for the starting quarterback job. It would seem to imply that Watson is in the lead. “It was so cool to watch him play. I get all of the frustration by fans, himself (with the past), but for him to come back and work like he did is an unbelievable credit to him,” Monken said. It sounds like Monken will continue the competition through the second week of the preseason, but there’s already a lean here.
  • CLE Quarterback #4
    Per Schefter, Todd Monken informed the quarterbacks this afternoon that Watson will get the first preseason start and Shedeur Sanders will draw the second. He will face Buffalo. We don’t want to read too much into the order of the starts, but it’s at least somewhat notable that Watson is first in line. The next two preseason games will likely determine Cleveland’s Week 1 starter. Neither option will do the Browns’ pass-catchers any favors for fantasy purposes.
  • CLE Quarterback #2
    They’ve been rotating days for the most part this summer, so this isn’t a surprise. The Browns haven’t named a starter yet, but even when they do, it will be hard to find fantasy value at quarterback.
  • CLE Quarterback #4
    Solak believes he is “not sure he’s the same athlete he was before,” but running quarterback is a way that Watson could find some fantasy usefulness in deeper leagues while he’s starting. We’ll believe it when we see it and there’s not a locked in job here for Watson, but perhaps this is a way to make him a bye week starter in superflex leagues.
  • CLE Quarterback #4
    This comes a day after Watson spent a second consecutive day with the first-team offense after previously rotating days with Shedeur Sanders. Watson, 30, has reportedly strung together a solid few days after getting off to a slow start and could finally be separating himself from Sanders in camp. Both quarterbacks are expected to get at least one start in the preseason after it was reported last week that the team planned on alternating starters in the preseason, but it sounds like the Browns are trending toward naming Watson as their starter while Sanders would serve as his backup. Regardless of who wins the job to begin the season, we would expect to see both quarterbacks under center at some point as the team looks to evaluate what it has at the position before the 2027 offseason.
  • CLE Quarterback #4
    The Browns have been alternating their QB1 on a daily basis in camp, giving both Watson and Shedeur Sanders a chance to work with the first-team offense during this summer’s camp battle. While Saturday would have been Sanders’ day to work with the ones, Watson instead worked exclusively with the first-team offense for a second straight day. A team spokesperson said after the practice that this decision was based on head coach Todd Monken wanting to see Watson with certain personnel groupings, but The Athletic’s Zac Jackson believes this could be “the first strong sign that Monken views Watson as the clear leader” in the camp battle. Watson has also reportedly strung together three straight solid days of camp after getting off to an underwhelming start. It was reported earlier that the team plans to alternate preseason starters, so we would assume this camp battle has a few weeks left to go before a QB1 is named for Week 1’s game against the Jaguars.
  • CLE Quarterback #2
    Wolfe said Browns head coach Todd Monken told him the team will start “one quarterback the first preseason game, the other one will start the second one, and most likely the leader of the competition is going to start the third.” It sounds like Monken is planning to give both Watson and Sanders a chance to compete and build chemistry in camp and preseason before determining a leader in the quarterback race. The Browns’ quarterback room is one of the few truly dead-even quarterback competitions occurring in camp and fantasy managers can stay tuned to preseason play to assess if Watson or Sanders has the edge to start Week 1.
  • CLE Quarterback #4
    It’s hard to put too much stock into practice stats, but if there’s one thing coaching staffs won’t tolerate from the quarterback position it’s turnovers. “It’s multiple -- they’re doing all types of different stuff, showing us different things,” Watson said of Cleveland’s defense. Watson and Shedeur Sanders remain in competition for the No. 1 quarterback job at this point, though it certainly seems like Sanders (who has been picked once per Oyefusi) is off to a better start.
  • CLE Quarterback #2
    Head coach Todd Monken said the Browns will “divide the reps up according to the depth chart.” Based on the practice reps to open up training camp, Sanders and Watson are competing for the starting job while Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green are competing for depth. Both Sanders and Watson have had disappointing showings in their most recent regular season performances and neither has yet to pull ahead of the other in this quarterback competition. Opening training camp with a quarterback battle, Monken will be alternating Sanders and Watson with the starting offense to see how the competition shakes out.

Rotoworld

  • CHI Running Back #25
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    Bears RB Kyle Monangai left practice early on Sunday after suffering an apparent right knee injury.

    According to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Monangai “got tangled up” with DT Grady Jarrett when the injury occurred. The second-year running back was able to walk off the field and into the locker room under his own power. The fact that the cart was not needed might be a good sign, but unfortunately, we are simply in wait-and-see mode for the time being. Bears RBs Roschon Johnson and Brittain Brown sit on the depth chart behind him. Starting RB D’Andre Swift could absorb a big chunk of Monangai’s workload if he misses time.
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    49ers TE George Kittle (Achilles) said he is “nearing a return to practice” and has “a chance” to play in Week 1 against the Rams.

    Kittle is “very confident” he will be activated from the active/PUP list before Week 1, meaning he should resume playing sometime in Weeks 1-4. The veteran tight end has not yet resumed practicing, but “hinted he’d be back at practice shortly but declined to give a timeline,” per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. Kittle said that he is running “a lot” and hitting top speeds while doing so. The 49ers are scheduled to fly out for the Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia roughly one week before the game. Kittle said that the next couple of weeks will determine whether he joins his teammates on that flight. From the way Kittle is discussing his recovery, it almost sounds like he expects to play in Week 2 at the latest, though that is purely an interpretive conclusion. Whether Kittle returns to form as a post-catch dominator remains to be seen, but the 32-year-old remains a top-12 player at his position at this time.
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    Packers TE Tucker Kraft (knee) said the team will “probably” keep him on a snap count until halfway through the 2026 season.

    Kraft is recovering from a season-ending ACL tear. He is on track to play in Week 1. Easing him into action before “sending [him] to the wolves” partway through the year, as Kraft says, makes sense. Kraft proved himself to be a top-tier real-life tight end and a locked-in TE1 in fantasy last year. He can still return TE1 numbers while playing on a snap count, likely receiving a few first-read passes that are designed with his post-catch skill set in mind. These comments should not impact his ADP negatively. For what it’s worth, Kraft also said that he is hoping to play his normal allotment of snaps in Week 1. The team may simply choose to take a conservative approach.
  • ARI Running Back #4
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    ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the Cardinals are “still hopeful” that RB Jeremiyah Love (ankle) will be ready for Week 1 against the Chargers.

    The language regarding Love’s ankle injury continues to evolve. The team initially said the No. 3 overall pick could have re-entered Thursday’s preseason game if necessary. Coach Mike LaFleur later said Love would need at least a week off. On the plus side, Fowler referred to Love as the team’s “soon-to-be lead back,” furthering the notion that some of the training camp rotation hubbub was perhaps inaccurate. Love has time to recover and play productively this season. His recovery is simply worth tracking right now.
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    ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes Browns coach Todd Monken could name a starter after “at some point” after Saturday’s preseason game against the Bills.

    Both Fowler and his colleague, Herm Edwards, complimented QB Deshaun Watson’s recent performances in both practice and preseason play. Per Fowler, Watson “has some momentum, not all of the momentum” at this time. His competitor, QB Shedeur Sanders, will start against the Bills this weekend.
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    Titans signed RB Dominic Richardson, formerly of the Cowboys.

    Richardson is a 2026 undrafted free agent. The Titans also signed TE Matt Lauter. They correspondingly placed DE Jaylen Harrell and TE Jaren Kanak on injured reserve.
  • HOU Wide Receiver #1
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    Texans WR Tank Dell did not practice on Sunday.

    NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson listed the Texans players who were not practicing on Sunday. Dell was the only player who was not listed with an injury designation, so it seems likely that this is just a rest day. The Texans are easing Dell, 26, back into action following a lengthy absence stemming from a multi-ligament knee injury suffered in 2024. Dell’s range of potential outcomes remains wide. He may be best suited to a complementary, rotational role.
  • HOU Wide Receiver
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    Texans WR Jaylin Noel (hamstring/finger) did not practice on Sunday.

    Noel has been dealing with the pinky finger issue since late July, but the hamstring is a recent injury. The second-year wide receiver would ideally be competing for the WR3 role right now, and losing reps could slow him down. He is a risky dart throw, but he flashed talent at times in his rookie season.
  • MIA Quarterback #14
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    Dolphins QB Quinn Ewers suffered a groin injury in Friday’s preseason game against the Commanders.

    The Dolphins signed QB Mark Gronowski after Ewers picked up the injury. Ewers is the Dolphins’ primary backup, so the team was a little short-staffed for the remaining preseason games. Dolphins backup OT Jamaree Salyer reportedly suffered a season-ending injury. The Dolphins also waived CB Ethan Robinson and signed LB Cam Riley.
  • WAS Running Back #26
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    Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Jeremy McNichols (quad) will be sidelined a few weeks.

    McNichols probably is no higher than fourth on the depth chart in Washington behind ‘Bill,’ Rachaad White, and Kaytron Allen. Missing time due to injury doesn’t bode well for him making the initial 53-man roster.