NFL Week 9 illness report: Deshaun Watson practices for the Browns, but his condition is still unknown; Matthew Stafford may not play for the Rams.
Sunday, September 9, 2023, is the ninth week of the NFL season. There are a lot of big games that day, including an international meeting of the Chiefs as well as Dolphins and a few other very important head-to-head matches.
You should pay close attention to injuries this week, as they do every week. That’s why we’ve gathered every team’s injury report and put together this list of the most important information.
Here are the first stories of injuries from Wednesday’s practices, in addition to some updates from Thursday.
Alex Van Pelt, the offensive coordinator for the Browns, said that Deshaun Watson would throw some balls during practice on Thursday, and the medical report for Cleveland shows that he did.
Cleveland said Watson would be able to drill some that day. Watson has now trained for the first moment since the bye week in Week 5.
Watson practiced for three days prior to the Browns’ Week 4 loss against the Ravens, but he couldn’t throw because he hurt his shoulder.
It’s still not clear if Watson will play against the Colts on Sunday. On Friday afternoon, we’ll know how Watson is doing in his game. For Thursday’s practice, more Cleveland players came back to the field.
After not practicing on Wednesday, tight end Harrison Bryant (hip), receiver Amari Cooper (rest/ankle), running back Kareem Hunt (thigh), cornerback Greg Newsome (hamstring), and defender Anthony Walker (concussion) were all set to play less.
In the NFL, “any given Sunday” can happen, and the Browns can’t make a mistake on Sunday against Arizona.
Punter Tommy Townsend (hand) was capable of to do all of practice after being limited on Wednesday.
On paper, Cleveland is by quite the better team, but that doesn’t matter in real life. The Browns can’t be thinking about their next two important games, against the Ravens and the Steelers.
Robert Hunt, a defensive end, hurt his hamstring and Brandon Jones, a safety, got a concussion, so Miami didn’t let them work on Wednesday or Thursday. Both Raheem Mostert (running back) and Durham Smythe (tight end) missed the first workout of the week because of injuries. On Thursday, they were both restricted.
On Thursday, they said that 10 players would not be able to play: Mostert, Smythe, tackle Terron Armstead (knee), wide receiver Braxton Berrios (hamstring), cornerback Justin Bethel (foot), wide receiver River Cracraft (shoulder), corner Xavien Howard (groin), nook Nik Needham (achilles), corner Jalen Ramsey (knee), and center Connor Williams (groin).
The only players listed as not being able to practice on Wednesday were linebacker Willie Gay (lower back) alongside running back Jerick McKinnon (groin). However, both did practice in a limited manner on Thursday.
Kyler Murray (knee) was reported as fully healthy by the Cardinals on Wednesday, but his status wasn’t shown on Thursday.
For now, he is still on the reserve/PUP list. This means that Arizona will have to either promote him or bring up practice squad quarterback Jeff Driskel if it wants to have a quarterback on the active roster besides Clayton Tune for Sunday.
On Wednesday and Thursday, offensive lineman Trystan Colon (calf), running back Emari Demercado (toe), as well as receiver Michael Wilson (shoulder) were all out for the team.
Among those who couldn’t play on Wednesday and Thursday were linebacker Krys Barnes (hamstring), receiver Greg Dortch (ankle), as well as defensive lineman Kevin Strong (shoulder).
Receivers Curtis Samuel (toe) and Ricky Stromberg (knee) were hurt at practice on Wednesday and Thursday, so Washington didn’t let them work.
Kendall Fuller and Jonathan Allen, a defensive tackle, were not on the injury list because they had veterans’ days off on Wednesday.
Peace of mind Percy Butler (calf) could not fully participate in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Tight end Logan Thomas (heel) was able to fully participate in practice on Thursday following being limited on Wednesday.