BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns returned from the bye week Monday but quarterback Deshaun Watson remains idle with a sore shoulder.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from the return.
Inside man – Watson was not on the field during the open portion of practice to reporters Monday morning as he continues to receive treatment for his sore right shoulder. “Just part of his rehab,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said following practice. “Still working through everything. I think with all of our guys, just going to treat all of our injured guys day-to-day and make sure that we're making smart decisions.” Watson was sidelined for the 28-3 loss to the Ravens on October 1 following a pregame workout that saw him struggle to throw 10-12 yards. His status for this week’s game against the 5-0 49ers is very much up in the air. “He's doing everything in his power, working around the clock with rehab,” Stefanski said. “So he's just doing what he's being told to do in terms of his rehab process.” Although Watson was medically cleared by doctors to play eight days ago, Stefanski tried to explain why Watson was inactive for the game. “I think the piece there that's important is medically cleared versus functionally able to do your job,” Stefanski said. “When you're working through an injury, you need to be able to functionally perform and that's what Deshaun's working very hard in his rehab to be able to get back to 100%.” Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who started in place of Watson and completed 52.1% of his passes for 121 yards with three interceptions in the loss to Baltimore, took the primary reps during Monday’s workout while practice squad quarterback P.J. Walker served as the No. 2 QB for the session. “The guys did a nice job with practice today, but we're not going towards Sunday just yet,” Stefanski said. “But DTR, like we talked about, young player getting better.”
Intimidating bunch – The undefeated 49ers come to town Sunday. “Obviously played really well [Sunday] night,” Stefanski said. “They’ve been playing very, very good football on all three sides of the ball. We had really one eye on them last week in our work, in our bye-week work, and then we'll really dive into them starting [Monday].” With or without Watson available, the task is a mighty one for the Browns with San Francisco averaging 33.4 points per game and they have scored no less than 30 in all five of their wins. They're also beating opponents by an average of 19.8 points per game this season with margins of victory of 23, 7, 18, 19, and 32. “I think they're one of the best defenses we're going to face this season yet,” running back Jerome Ford said. After watching quarterback Brock Purdy and San Francisco’s defense just tear the Cowboys to shreds for four quarters, it’s hard not to feel like the Niners might be invincible, but the Browns can’t think like fans. They see it as an opportunity. “Really good team. Obviously, they're 5-0, they put some great things on tape as an offense,” linebacker Sione Takitaki said. “A lot of guys that could do a lot of things personnel wise. So really good, explosive team. I feel like Brock Purdy does a great job with the ball and they got a great running back, some pass catchers, Kittle, good O line. So, I'm excited for the opportunity to go against a great team and, yeah, we're excited.”
Ball security – Last week EVP/GM Andrew Berry said turnovers were the top five priorities to address during the bye week and Stefanski agreed. “It's everything when you're talking about giving it away or taking it away – so we need to be better,” Stefanski said. “We're minus seven right now, which is not going to get it done now. We're minus seven right now. It matters what we are moving forward. So major emphasis for all three sides of the ball. Anybody who touches that rock, do everything in their power to gain yards while maintaining ball security and then getting the ball on defense and special teams, opportunities for us to get the ball.” The Browns have turned it over 10 times in four games while securing just three takeaways defensively. “That's probably the biggest stat in football that helps teams win,” Takitaki said. “So I feel like we just got to do better as a whole, keeping the ball and then as a defense taking it away and we work on that every day as a team, so we'll continue to get after until it's right.”
Familiar face – Takitaki knows 49ers linebacker Fred Warner all too well. They were teammates at BYU. “That's my dude, man. He's a baller,” Takitaki said. Warner has made a pair of Pro Bowls and been named an All-Pro twice in the last three years. “He was a real disciplined guy,” Takitaki said. “At a time where you are 18, 19, kind of learning things, I feel like he was just very mature for his age in college and it's definitely paying off.” Warner has batted down three passes, forced a fumble, recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss and a pair of QB hits.
Injury updates –Tight end David Njoku, who played despite suffering burns to his face and hands also wasn’t on the field. Njoku played in the loss to the Ravens that saw him lead the Browns with six catches in the loss. “[He’s] progressing as anybody can imagine,” Stefanski said. “That's a tough one. So he's progressing.” Center Ethan Pocic is dealing with knee and chest injuries that also kept him off the field. Left guard Joel Bitonio is “working through something…but he’s doing a good job” according to Stefanski. “With all those guys, they’re day-to-day,” Stefanski said. “We will update everybody when we get to Wednesday with the official injury report. But everybody's progressing. They're all doing a nice job. They're all doing what we're asking to do.”
