Deshaun Watson Could Miss Week 9 After Being Placed In Concussion Protocol

by Arop KualNovember 6, 2026, 4:36 pm >

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has been placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol. Watson was injured during the team’s Week 8 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On the opening drive, Watson took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker and missed the next drive. Watson returned to the game after heading to the medical tent, but he fumbled on the next drive.

Watson completed 27 of 39 passes for 324 yards; despite the numbers, the offense couldn’t keep up with the Steelers, and the team went on to lose 27-6.

Backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders would be set to make his first start of the season if Watson is not cleared to play in the team’s Week 9 game against the New Orleans Saints.

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Head coach Todd Monken didn’t rule Watson out for Sunday’s game; he suggested it was “a little more difficult for a quarterback” to go through protocol and play without getting any reps in practice throughout the week.

Sanders started in seven games last season in his rookie year; he threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He went 3-4 in those games, but he is now the backup after losing a quarterback battle to Watson in training camp.

“Last year I say I was able to see what I need to see, feel different things during the games and understand what I need to get better at,” Sanders said. “So then going into this offseason, we worked on that at training camp, of course, and this offseason and overall I’m just excited for the opportunity.”

“I can’t wait, Monken said. “This is so cool. I mean, that’s an opportunity if it goes that way, and he gets a great opportunity to go play and for us to see him go play. And again, I don’t know how tomorrow Deshaun will feel tomorrow. I’m excited for today… So if that happens to work out, I can’t wait to see him let it rip today and see where we’re at. I mean that’s what you do. That’s why you build depth. That’s why he got a ton of reps in fall camp. I mean, that’s really the benefit of all this is when we opened it up as a competition, he got a ton of those reps.”

The Browns are 5-3 and in third place in the AFC North, one game behind the first-place Steelers after splitting the series this season. Watson has completed 65.5% of his passes for 1,806 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in eight starts.