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Why Browns' Deshaun Watson reportedly aggravated teammates
It appears Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson irritated some teammates by not playing with a bruised throwing shoulder during this past Sunday's 28-3 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
"He was adamant to everyone in the building he was going to play Sunday and the Browns took him at his word," Jason Lloyd of The Athletic said about Watson in a piece published Thursday. "Players I spoke to after the game were aggravated Watson didn’t play after he assured everyone all week he would."
Watson struggled through his pregame warmup before he was made inactive against Baltimore, and head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters earlier this week the 28-year-old "knows his body" and "just did not feel like he had his full faculties." Dorian Thompson-Robinson largely looked like an unready rookie playing in Watson's place, as the fifth-round draft pick completed 19-of-36 passes for 121 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in the defeat that dropped Cleveland to 2-2 heading into the club's bye.
"Had Watson simply said, 'This really hurts. I’ll do my best but I’m not sure,' I believe the week of preparation and the fallout from Watson not playing would have been much, much different," Lloyd wrote.
Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Browns general manager Andrew Berry insisted on Wednesday that everyone involved was "optimistic" Watson would play against Baltimore until "it became obvious (during the pregame warmup) to all of us that he couldn’t throw or drive the ball well enough to perform in the game." Berry also said at that time he expects Watson will "be ready to go" when the Browns face the San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Oct. 15.
4-0 San Francisco hosts the 3-1 Dallas Cowboys this Sunday night.
"Just because players were upset after the game doesn’t mean the season is over or they’ve turned on their quarterback, it means the messaging could have been better and should be in the future," Lloyd added.
What's done is done, and the Browns will need everybody on the same page when they take on what may be the NFL's best team in Week 6.
More must-reads:
- Browns' Kevin Stefanski explains why Deshaun Watson didn’t play vs. Ravens
- Browns’ Myles Garrett Reveals Massive Injury Update
- The 'QBs and coaches from the 2002 NFL playoffs'
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Green Bay Packers: MarShawn Lloyd Makes 1 Promise Amid Frustrating Setbacks
The Green Bay Packers are excited to find out what a whole healthy season from running back MarShawn Lloyd can contribute to their offense. Sure, the Packers have an elite running back as the top option on the ground in the form of Josh Jacobs, but Lloyd presents an exciting potential that remains untapped, in large part because of health setbacks. Lloyd played in only one game in 2024, his first season in the NFL. In the 2024 offseason, he dealt with hip and hamstring injuries. In Week 1 of the 2024 season, the former USC Trojans star running back suffered an ankle injury that landed him on the injured reserve. Just when he was about to get back to action, he was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy. Lloyd looked forward to the 2025 offseason and was among the most noticeable players in training camp until suffering a non-contact injury that has since sidelined him. Despite all that he’s gone through, Lloyd remains optimistic. Lloyd determined to make an impact in Year 2 with Green Bay Packers “It did. It does,” Lloyd said when asked about whether the setbacks had bothered him (h/t a video posted by Dominique Yates of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft by the Packers, Lloyd knows that it’s “going to be fun” once he gets unleashed on the field again. “But at the end of the day, I just got to stay in my face, you know, I feel like everything happens for a reason when, you know, when it’s time, you know, like I said, God’s gonna give me the strength to be able to do things I need to do. And when he lets me loose, it’s going to be a fun one. It’s going to be a good one. I’m excited to play with, you know, guys like Josh Jacobs, guys like Amalia Wilson, and guys like Chris Brooks. So it’s going to be, it’s going to be fun. I’m excited.” It remains to be seen whether Lloyd will get the green light to see some snaps in this coming Saturday’s preseason game against the New York Jets at Lambeau Field. But at least he’s already started rehabbing, which is a good sign for his chances to play in the Packers’ 2025 season opener at home against the Detroit Lions.
Warriors, Josh Giddey Report Surfaces After Jonathan Kuminga Update
The Golden State Warriors have only continued their stalemate with Jonathan Kuminga. While they haven't gone out of their way to re-sign the young wing, they also have made it clear they won't let him go. On July 30, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the last offer Golden State made to Kuminga was promptly turned down. "The Golden State Warriors made another push to retain Jonathan Kuminga over the past several days, but the restricted free agent is continuing to decline their two-year, $45 million contract offer," Charania wrote. While not a cheap offer, Golden State could put more money on the table, but they won't. Since then, there have been reports about potential sign-and-trades, but nothing has materialized, leaving Kuminga and the Warriors in a holding pattern. Among everything going down between Kumigna and the Warriors, NBA Insider Jake Fischer revealed on Bleacher Report's Live Stream that they have interest in Chicago Bulls wing Josh Giddey and could use the Kuminga situation to get them the former lottery pick. "I can report that there have been multiple teams that have reached out to Josh Giddey's representation about having interest in Josh Giddey," Fischer said. "Golden State is one of them. Golden State would be interested, depending on how the machinations could go in some type of Josh Giddey-Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, to my understanding." Kuminga Had Interest in Joining the Bulls On a live stream from July 16, Fischer revealed that Kuminga had interest in joining the Bulls via sign-and-trade, but it was to join forces with Giddey on theBulls. Fischer also revealed why it didn't come to fruition. “I do know that Kuminga’s representation was trying to figure out some sign and trade scenario that would’ve gotten both Josh Giddey and Jonathan Kuminga paid in Chicago,” Fischer said. “I think that was something that would’ve been more likely if the Bulls waited and had Lonzo Ball sent back to Golden State instead of that deal that they already made with Cleveland. I think that would’ve been something that Golden State would’ve liked.” It sounds like Kuminga is interested in joining the Bulls, and the Warriors want Giddey. The only other factors at play are whether the Bulls want Kuminga and are willing to part ways with Giddey for him and whether Giddey has a mutual interest in joining Golden State. Giddey would give the Warriors another ball handler and playmaker, while Kuminga would give the Bulls a young scoring wing. Both sides would benefit, but given the restrictions of restricted free agency, everyone from all sides would have to play ball to make this work.
Gap between star WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders revealed
As of Thursday morning, the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin remained in a contract stalemate after the 29-year-old wide receiver in the final year of his current deal requested a trade. During Thursday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler noted that the Commanders and McLaurin are locked in "a classic standoff" as McLaurin allegedly looks to secure "parts" of the five-year, $150M deal that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf this past March. "They have been far apart," Fowler said about the negotiations between the Commanders and McLaurin, as shared by Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report. "...[McLaurin] has wanted metrics of the DK Metcalf contract, which is $32M. I'm told the Washington Commanders have only been slightly above where he was before, which is $23M. So take that gap, that's $7M to 8M that they have to bridge." Fowler added that Washington "has got some calls about McLaurin" this summer because "there's some interest league-wide" in learning whether or not the wideout could become available. For what it's worth, numerous reporters have said since McLaurin went public with his trade request that he likely won't go anywhere before Washington opens the season with a home game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. ESPN's John Keim mentioned that Washington's joint practice with the New England Patriots on Wednesday showed that the Commanders "need McLaurin back on the field" as soon as possible. That's understandable, as McLaurin recorded team highs of 117 targets, 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards to help quarterback Jayden Daniels become the Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season. Additionally, McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign ranked second in the entire NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list a Washington team coming off a trip to this year's NFC Championship Game sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX. Perhaps Wednesday's joint practice will spark more positive conversations between McLaurin's camp and the Commanders that will result in the playmaker rejoining summer practices as soon as early next week.
Three takeaways from Raiders’ preseason tie against the Seahawks
SEATTLE—It was a mixed bag of tricks for the first Las Vegas Raiders game in about seven months. On Thursday, the Raiders launched a comeback bid against the Seattle Seahawks to finish their first preseason game with a 23-23 tie. Both team starts out their preseason slates with a 0-0-1 record, with each having something to work on heading into next weekend. Here are some major takeaways to come from the Raiders’ side of the equation. Jeanty posts forgettable debut Ashton Jeanty did not get much playing time as expected, but it was not the first impression he wanted to make for the Raiders. On three carries, the sixth overall pick managed to pick up -1 rushing yards. It was hard for him to find room, as the Seahawks defensive front swarmed him at every turn. It was just a preseason game that has little effect on the season, but Jeanty struggling like this could pose a problem for a Raiders team desperate for him to solve their rushing woes. QB2 heating up In the battle to be Geno Smith’s backup, the edge in the first preseason game went firmly to sixth-round rookie Cam Miller over Aidan O’Connell. O’Connell’s day was not without positives, but a couple of second quarter interceptions derailed momentum on some drives. When Miller came in for the fourth quarter, however, he rallied the Raiders from down ten points with a pair of scoring drives, including a beautiful 41-yard touchdown pass to Shedrick Jackson. It would not be surprising to see Miller get more reps throughout the rest of the offseason to see if he can capitalize on the momentum. Clutch defensive play After tying the game, the Raiders had to stop Jalen Milroe and the Seahawks from going down the field. On third down, the Raiders finally managed to get their first sack of the day from Treven Ma’ae. It was the first major play the defense made all game, giving the Raiders serious momentum for their final drive. Unfortunately, they could not finish off the Seahawks in the end, as they blocked a 55-yard field goal attempt from Daniel Carlson to clinch the tie.
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