The New Orleans Saints tried to acquire Deshaun Watson during the offseason, but he chose the Cleveland Browns instead.
Now Watson leads the Browns (6-8) against the Saints (5-9) on Saturday in what forecasters predict will be arctic conditions in Cleveland.
It will be the fourth start of the season for Watson, who was suspended for the first 11 games of the season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
“He doesn’t lack for confidence, and he’s a great leader in the building, outside the building, on the practice field and in the locker room,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of Watson. “I think Deshaun is certainly getting more and more comfortable in what we are doing.”
The Browns are 2-1 since Watson returned. He completed 18 of 28 passes for 161 yards in a 13-3 victory against Baltimore in his home debut in wintry conditions last Saturday.
Watson conceded after a 700-day absence from NFL play there was some rust, but added that he has gotten more comfortable with “everything” that goes with playing quarterback again.
“From the swagger, to operating the offense, to being able to know exactly where everyone is going to be, when we need to call a timeout, when we don’t need to call a timeout, when we need to go for it,” Watson said.
At midweek, the forecast for Saturday includes a 48 percent chance of snow, winds gusting beyond 30 mph and a high temperature of 13 degrees before factoring wind chill.
The Saints changed their travel plans due to the weather, choosing to arrive Thursday instead of the typical day before the game because of severe conditions forecast for Friday.
“It’s going to be cold and windy,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said. “But, look, it’s going to be cold and windy for both teams. And so we’re not going to make too big a deal about it. We’re going to prepare for the Cleveland Browns, and then we’ll have to adjust, from a gameplan standpoint, to the elements. But really the focus has to be on the team we’re playing, and not really about the elements.”
The Saints kept their slim playoff hopes alive by defeating visiting Atlanta 21-18 last Sunday. They’re in a three-way tie for second place in the NFC South, one game behind Tampa Bay, but the Buccaneers hold the tiebreaker over New Orleans.
The Saints didn’t practice Tuesday. They have had a lengthy injury report all season and nine players were on the list Tuesday, including starting guard Cesar Ruiz (foot), who was placed on injured reserve later in the day.
Two other starters — rookie wide receiver Chris Olave (hamstring) and linebacker Pete Werner (hamstring) — were listed as did not participate and two more starters — cornerback Marshon Lattimore (abdomen) and safety Marcus Maye (shoulder) — were listed as limited due to injury.
Cleveland did practice, given the uncertainty of the end of the week and weather conditions. Its absences were key players — defensive end Myles Garrett (illness) and running back Nick Chubb (foot). Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney remained in concussion protocol after getting hurt in last Saturday’s game and starting safety John Johnson III (thigh) also missed practice.
Cleveland also designated center Ethan Pocic (knee) to return from IR and get accustomed to Watson at quarterback. Pocic has been out since Week 11.
–Field Level Media
