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One of the best and most comprehensive features we offer every year is our Footballguys Preseason Updates. Every week this month, Dave Kluge, Clayton Gray, and their team of Footballguys Staffers cover every player that matters from every NFL team. It's 32-plus pages of some of the most comprehensive coverage you'll find. It's probably worth the Footballguys Premium Subscription by itself.
Updates from Week 4
Preseason Updates: Quarterbacks
The week began with Todd Monken explaining the decision that ended the summer's biggest story. His case for Deshaun Watson rested on the whole competition rather than one bad night against the Bills. "Took in the full body of work over the course of offseason to training camp, to the games, the joint practice, and ultimately felt like to start the season on the road, Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points," Monken said, adding, "Ultimately, we expect him to play well, or we wouldn't be starting him." Opening on the road in Jacksonville factored in directly, with Monken citing operation and silent cadence among the tiebreakers, and he made clear the call is not a week-to-week arrangement while praising how Shedeur Sanders handled the news, calling him someone who "really understands the long game." Watson opened his own press conference by apologizing to the fans, admitting his "emotions got the best of me," then framed the job as two years of rehab paying off: "This is what I've been working for two years is to be able to show that I'm capable of being a starter." With the top two watching Thursday's finale, Dillon Gabriel closed the preseason as Cleveland's most productive quarterback, completing 12 of 15 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns in one half of a 37-13 win over the Patriots, with rookie Taylen Green running for 66 yards after halftime. The four-quarterback question resolved itself in a way nobody predicted, as the Browns placed Gabriel on injured reserve Sunday with a back injury and used one of their two return designations on him, leaving Watson, Sanders, and Green as the initial 53-man roster's quarterback room, with the Browns unwilling to risk losing Green by exposing him to waivers.
Preseason Updates: Running Backs
Quinshon Judkins returned to practice Monday after the "nagging" issue that cost him the joint practice week, then sat out the finale with the rest of the starters. He should arrive at the Sept. 13 opener in Jacksonville fully healthy for the first time since the dislocated ankle and fractured fibula that ended his rookie season in Week 16 against Buffalo. The surgery spared his knee, the six-month recovery timeline held, and Monken has spent camp talking about him like the centerpiece of the offense. "Quinshon's just a bull, man. He's a downhill, powerful man. He's hard to bring down, and he's got something inside of him from a competitive standpoint that's fun to watch," Monken said earlier in camp, adding more recently that it feels like Judkins has "his confidence back, his explosion." After 230 carries as a rookie, and with Monken importing the run-first approach he coordinated in Baltimore, a heavy workload is coming. Despite catching a 7-yard touchdown from Gabriel in the preseason finale, Ahmani Marshall lost the running back depth battle to Raheim Sanders for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.
