Who Should I Start? Deshaun Watson or Sam Howell

Monday, May 19, 10:25 PM

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) has been throwing to receivers Jerry Jeudy and David Bell at the team's facility and has been out of his walking boot for several weeks, a league source told The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot. However, Watson is not part of the offseason QB competition among Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. The 29-year-old Watson had a second surgery on his Achilles back on Jan. 9 and is not expected to be ready to play at the start of the 2025 season this fall. In fact, he's widely expected to miss all of the 2025 campaign, with many believing that he's already played his last game for the Browns. Still, Watson has made "excellent progress" in his recovery from a torn right Achilles that he suffered last season. But given his injury and his off-field drama, Watson's NFL future remains very murky.

Tuesday, June 17, 12:11 PM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Howell was usually the second QB to rotate into team drills during offseason workouts behind J.J. McCarthy, which suggests that Howell is the front-runner for the No. 2 job. However, nothing he did this spring indicated that he will push McCarthy to start in 2025, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "He's kind of like J.J.," head coach Kevin O'Connell said, "where he's made some throws where you're like, 'Man, probably shouldn't have made that throw. But I now know on this play, I've got to be careful of this.' And it's all growth." Behind Howell is Brett Rypien and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer. The Vikings acquired Howell in a trade this offseason with Seattle. The former fifth-rounder by the Commanders has completed 62.6% of his passes for 4,139 yards, 22 touchdowns and 23 picks in 20 games (18 starts) in his three NFL seasons.