Who Should I Start? Deshaun Watson or C.J. Beathard

Wednesday, October 4, 11:08 AM

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry said he's "optimistic" that quarterback Deshaun Watson's (shoulder) throwing shoulder won't be a factor going forward and that it "will heal in the short-term." The Browns have their bye in Week 5, so all expectations are that Watson will be good to go in Week 6 on Oct. 15 to face the San Francisco 49ers after he was held out of the Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The 28-year-old signal-caller had been cleared last Sunday, but the Browns took the cautious approach and held him out with the bye looming. Watson should be available to fantasy managers next week, but he'll be more of a QB2 in that matchup against one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Sunday, August 27, 3:07 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback C.J. Beathard went 8-for-10 for 134 yards, a touchdown, and a near-perfect passer rating of 152.1 in Saturday's 31-18 preseason win over the Miami Dolphins. The vet came into camp with a leg up on rookie Nathan Rourke for the QB2 spot behind Trevor Lawrence, but the latter has been applying some pressure with his play through two games. Beathard was the second QB to take over after Lawrence in this one, leading three consecutive scoring drives to close out the first half. The performance was highlighted by a 74-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Tim Jones, who broke open on the left side of the field and cruised in untouched for the score. Rourke quarterbacked the entire second half of the game, which saw the Jaguars put up two more touchdowns. Still, the Ohio native finished with a measly 74 passing yards on only six attempts, as Jacksonville opted to go with a more ground-heavy attack. At this point, Beathard has held onto his QB2 position but is still firmly off the fantasy radar unless something happens to Lawrence.