Browns defensive end Myles Garrett sits one sack away from the single-season record. He’d like to get there by taking down Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"[Rodgers is] legendary himself, and it’s a legendary record I’m here chasing,” Garrett said Friday, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. “That’d be a great one to put a picture on the wall with.”
Garrett currently has 22 sacks. The record of 22.5 is shared by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Rodgers’s current teammate, linebacker T.J. Watt.
Of course, there’s a chance Rodgers will get the day off. If the Ravens lose to the Packers on Saturday night, that “may” affect Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s personnel decisions, since the Steelers will have clinched the AFC North title before their Week 17 game at Cleveland even begins.
And that would perhaps give Garrett a chance to set the record by sacking an old nemesis, Mason Rudolph. If, of course, Tomlin decides to roll with Rudolph and not to give some game reps to rookie Will Howard, who could be a candidate to become the team’s post-Rodgers option at the position.
Regardless of who the quarterback is, Garrett needs just one. And it’s unlikely Rodgers will do the same favor for Garrett that his Green Bay predecessor, Brett Favre, did for Strahan 24 years ago.
Browns Clips
T.J. Watt returned to the practice field this week, but the edge rusher won’t be helping the Steelers on Sunday.
Watt has missed the last two games while recovering from a collapsed lung and the Steelers ruled him out for their game against the Browns on Friday’s injury report. Watt was listed as a limited participant in practice all three days this week.
The Steelers will take the field on Sunday with the AFC North title in hand if the Ravens lose to the Packers on Saturday. If Baltimore wins, they’ll need to beat the Browns to avoid a winner take all visit from the Ravens in Week 18.
Safety Jalen Ramsey (illness) and left guard Isaac Seumalo (triceps) are listed as questionable. Wide receiver Calvin Austin (hamstring), cornerback Brandin Echols (groin), and cornerback James Pierre (calf) will join Watt on the inactive list.
After quarterback Shedeur Sanders slipped through the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL draft, we raised the question of whether he should try to return to Colorado (or another college program) for one more season. Many scoffed at the possibility, but it’s become clear in recent years that pretty much every NCAA rule, if challenged, will fail as an antitrust violation.
And the rule that prevents a football player who has been drafted from returning to college football seems to be ready to collapse.
Via Joe Tipton of On3.com, seven-foot center James Nnaji has been granted four years of eligibility by the NCAA — even though he was selected in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft. Nnaji reportedly will play for Baylor.
Picked by the Detroit Pistons, Nnaji’s rights were transferred to the Charlotte Hornets. In 2024, his rights were shipped to the New York Knicks. Nnaji has never signed an NBA contract.
Nnaji has played professional basketball overseas. He nevertheless has been permitted to commence a college basketball career, at the age of 21.
It’s just a matter of time before a college football player declares for the draft, changes his mind after being picked, and attempts to return to college football. (Quinn Ewers, taken in round seven by the Dolphins, also could have attempted to do it, but he decided not to.)
For any player who goes later than expected, or who is drafted by a team he doesn’t want to play for (e.g., the Jets), why not consider it as an option?
College athletes finally have the power to make real business decisions. There’s no more significant decision to make than whether to accept a slotted deal as a mid-to-late-round pick or to spend another year at the college level, making much more money via the new NIL reality and try it again the next year.
Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt was a limited participant in his return to Steelers practice on Wednesday.
Watt was on the practice field for the first time since he suffered a collapsed lung during a dry needling session at the team’s facility earlier this month. Watt has missed the last two games while recovering from the injury, but Wednesday’s development could signal a return to game action as soon as this weekend’s matchup with the Browns.
Running back Jaylen Warren (hip), cornerback James Pierre (calf), edge rusher Nick Herbig (hamstring), and left guard Isaac Seumalo (triceps) were also limited participants on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Calvin Austin (hamstring), cornerback Brandin Echols (groin), right tackle Troy Fautanu (personal), and defensive lineman Cam Heyward (rest) were out of practice. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (left wrist), wide receiver Ben Skowronek (hand), and long snapper Christian Kuntz (knee) were full participants.
Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders briefly left last Sunday’s loss to the Bills after injuring his right pinky finger and it doesn’t look like the issue will cause him any problems heading into this week’s game against the Steelers.
Sanders was listed as a full participant in practice on Wednesday’s injury report. Sanders only missed one offensive snap because of the injury and went 20-of-29 for 157 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the 23-20 loss.
Tight end David Njoku (knee) was the only Browns player to miss practice Wednesday.
Tight end Brenden Bates (ankle), guard Joel Bitonio (rest), cornerback Tyson Campbell (shoulder), defensive tackle Mason Graham (rib), defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. (illness), cornerback Myles Harden (shoulder), safety Rayshawn Jenkins (ankle), guard Teven Jenkins (shoulder), defensive tackle Sam Kamara (elbow), linebacker Winston Reid (back), running back Dylan Sampson (hand), linebacker Carson Schwesinger (ankle), guard Wyatt Teller (calf), and cornerback Denzel Ward (calf) were all listed as limited participants.
Christmas Eve brought some good news about Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt’s recovery from a collapsed lung.
Reporters at the open portion of Steelers practice shared photos and videos of Watt on the practice field. It’s the first time Watt has participated in practice since having a procedure to repair a collapsed lung.
Watt missed the last two games as a result of the injury. His status for this Sunday’s game against the Browns is unknown at this point, but his return to practice is a good sign that the Steelers will have Watt available if they win the AFC North and advance to the playoffs.
Edge rusher Nick Herbig is also taking part in Wednesday’s practice. Herbig did not play in last Sunday’s win over the Lions because of a hamstring injury.
The Browns have added an offensive lineman to their roster for the final weeks of the regular season.
The team announced on Wednesday morning that they have signed Kendrick Green off of the Bills’ practice squad. The team had an open 53-man roster spot after placing running back Quinshon Judkins on injured reserve Tuesday.
Green signed with the Bills in the offseason and joined their practice squad after being cut in August. He has not appeared in any games this season.
The Steelers drafted Green in the third round in 2021 and he started 15 games at center for the team as a rookie. He moved to guard in 2022 and was traded to the Texans in 2023. He appeared in 21 games and made four starts over two seasons in Houston.
In the least surprising development of the month, the NFL has upheld the two-game suspension the NFL imposed on Steelers receiver DK Metcalf.
Metcalf’s punishment flowed from his interaction with a fan during Sunday’s Lions-Steelers game in Detroit. The league concluded that Metcalf had engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL.
That determination bypassed the usual hearing-officer process and delegated the appeal to the Commissioner or his designee. (Former NFL coach Chris Palmer reportedly handled it.) If the initial two-game punishment was imposed with the Commissioner’s knowledge or consent (surely, they ran it by him), why would he change his mind one day later?
And so Metcalf will miss Week 17 at Cleveland and Week 18 vs. Baltimore. He’ll lose $555,555 in base salary, with the Steelers also able (if they choose) to recover $1.5 million in signing bonus money and to void $25 million in fully guaranteed pay for 2026, along with $20 million in injury guarantees in 2027.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers will do it. It does, however, give them an easy out from Metcalf’s deal after only one year.
When the Browns opened quarterback Deshaun Watson’s practice window earlier this month, word was that they did not plan to activate him from the physically unable to perform list so that he could play in a game.
That course of action is now confirmed. Tuesday was the final day that Watson could be activated before he became ineligible to return this season and the Browns left him on the PUP list.
“He’s done a great job with everything that’s been asked of him,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. “I’ve gotten to see him work so hard, whether it’s in the training room, by himself in the indoor with the trainers, on the practice field now for the last bit. Just felt like this was the right decision for him and for us. His focus will continue to be to help this football team and continue to get healthy and get stronger and all those types of things.”
Watson tore his Achilles last season and tore it again in January. He remains under contract for the 2026 season with a fully guaranteed salary of $46 million. Releasing him without a post-June 1 designation would result in a cap hit of more than $131 million while using the designation would leave $80 million in dead money, so he’s expected to remain on the roster whether he’s back in the starting lineup or not.
Shedeur Sanders has now started five games at quarterback for the Browns, with two more opportunities on the slate to cap his rookie season.
Sanders has flashed his potential at times, particularly as he threw for 364 yards with three touchdowns against Tennessee on Dec. 7. But Sanders hasn’t been able to stem what’s been a rough season for Cleveland, as the club has accumulated a 1-4 record in his starts.
In his Tuesday news conference, Sanders was asked if he’s thought about how much better things could potentially be in his second season.
“No, I live in the present. I live in the present,” Sanders said. “I’m focused on this week and this game — and nothing’s promised. Nothing’s promised going into next year or anything, so I stay in the moment, stay focused on what I have to do now to even be able to be here next year, you know? I just enjoy life.”
Sanders later added that he doesn’t think he needs to feel a sense of commitment from the Browns about being their starting quarterback in 2026.
“I don’t think it’s about anything of that,” Sanders said. “It’s about controlling what you can control — as a person, as a player. I think I have to do my part. I think I have to do my part and get some wins, do my part and play clean football. The rest isn’t in my hands. So, that’s really all it is. I don’t own the organization, you know? So I can’t promise anything will happen. I’m not God, I can’t dictate what’s going to happen each and every day, each and every minute.
“You’ve just got to enjoy what you do have. You’ve got to enjoy the present. You can’t look too deep into the future because then you’ll miss the blessings and the lessons you learn from the now.”
Frankly, Sanders’ approach makes a lot of sense because it’s far from guaranteed that any of the Browns’ decision-makers will be back for 2026. Chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta has already taken a job as the Colorado Rockies’ top baseball executive. After six seasons and just three wins over the last two years, General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski could be out as well.
