NFL Player News

Watson is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday to repair his ruptured right Achilles' tendon, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

He'll have the procedure overseen by Packers team physician Dr. Robert Anderson, who specializes in foot and ankle orthopedic surgeries. According to Cabot, Watson will be facing a nine-month recovery, which should put him on pace to be close to 100 percent before the start of the 2025 season. Though Watson is still on the Browns' books through the 2026 season after signing a five-year extension for $230 million guaranteed in March 2022, his poor play and inability to stay on the field over his first three seasons in Cleveland could prompt the team to go in a different direction at quarterback in 2025, even if he's fully healthy.

Levis (shoulder) is considered a "longshot" to play in Sunday's game against the Lions, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Following Sunday's 34-10 loss to the Bills, Titans head coach Brian Callahan had labeled Levis as week-to-week, so the second-year quarterback's expected absence for the Week 8 game doesn't come as much of a surprise. After initially suffering an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder during the Titans' Week 4 win over the Dolphins, Levis was cleared to start coming out of a Week 5 bye, but he completed just 16 of 27 pass attempts for 95 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a Week 6 loss to the Colts. The poor outing seemingly has prompted the Titans to take a more deliberate approach with Levis' recovery from the injury, so he'll be poised to get a second straight game off while Mason Rudolph presumably makes another start. Levis still could carry a designation into Sunday if he's able to continue practicing in some fashion Wednesday through Friday, but it's unclear if the Titans would be comfortable using him as a backup to Rudolph if he's less than 100 percent.

The Browns plan to have Winston start at quarterback in Sunday's game against the Ravens, Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reports.

Winston was inactive as the Browns' emergency No. 3 quarterback for last Sunday's loss to the Bengals, but he'll move into the starting role a week later with Deshaun Watson (Achilles) suffering a season-ending injury and with Dorian Thompson-Robinson (finger) uncertain to be available. After Watson was forced out late in the first half of the loss to the Bengals and after Thompson-Robinson exited late in the fourth quarter, Winston directed the Browns' final drive of the day, completing five of 11 pass attempts for 67 yards and a touchdown. He will now have a full week of reps with the first-team offense before he sees his first extended action with the Browns this Sunday.

Penix completed his only pass attempt for 14 yards during Sunday's 34-14 loss to the Seahawks.

With the game out of hand, Penix made his NFL regular-season debut. He played seven offensive snaps and completed his only pass to fellow rookie Casey Washington. Despite Sunday's dud, Kirk Cousins has fully shaken off the early-season rust and revitalized Atlanta's offense, so Penix is relegated to backup duties for the foreseeable future.

Dalton was involved in a car accident in Charlotte on Tuesday and is set to be evaluated by team medical personnel, David Newton of ESPN.com reports.

Dalton had been traveling with his wife, three children and dog, but none required emergency medical attention after the accident. The quarterback may still have suffered an injury, however, and the Panthers will likely provide an update on his condition Wednesday after the team medical staff evaluates him. After supplanting Bryce Young as the Panthers' starting quarterback beginning in Week 3, Dalton has guided Carolina to a 1-4 record while completing 66.7 percent of his throws for 989 yards (6.2 YPA), seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Raiders placed O'Connell (thumb) on injured reserve Tuesday.

According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, O'Connell could miss 4-6 weeks while he recovers from a broken thumb on his throwing hand. The Raiders haven't revealed whether O'Connell will require surgery to address the injury, but in his absence, Gardner Minshew will step back into the starting role. The Raiders signed Desmond Ridder off the Cardinals' practice squad to provide depth behind Minshew.

Thompson-Robinson is dealing with a injured tendon on the middle finger of his throwing hand, but the Browns don't believe he'll miss multiple weeks due to the issue, Brad Stainbrook of 247Sports.com reports.

While Thompson-Robinson appears on track to avoid a stint on injured reserve, the second-year quarterback's status for a Week 8 game against the Ravens is still in flux. After starter Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury late in the second quarter of this past Sunday's loss to the Bengals, Thompson-Robinson came off the bench and completed 11 of 24 pass attempts for 82 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions while adding 44 yards on three carries before he was lifted from the contest in the fourth quarter due to the injury. Jameis Winston came on to direct the Browns' final drive of the day, and he'll presumably be in line to start Sunday versus Baltimore.

The Browns placed Watson (Achilles) on injured reserve Tuesday.

After Watson suffered a season-ending ruptured right Achilles' tendon in Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Bengals, the Browns didn't wait long to clear a spot for another quarterback in Bailey Zappe, who was signed off Kansas City's practice squad. With Watson set to undergo surgery in the near future, the Browns will turn the offense over to either Dorian Thompson-Robinson (finger) or Jameis Winston beginning with the team's Week 8 game against the Ravens. Since being traded to the Browns in March 2022 and signing a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million extension, Watson has made just 19 appearances, completing 61.2 percent of his passes for 6.0 yards per attempt and a 19:12 TD:INT. The 29-year-old should be ready to return for the start of the 2025 season, though given his poor form over the past few years, it's unclear if the Browns will still view him as a viable starting option.

Head coach Dennis Allen said Carr (oblique) took part in a throwing session Monday and will throw again Tuesday before the Saints assess his status for Sunday's game against the Chargers, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

While Carr hasn't been ruled out for Sunday after missing the last two games with a left oblique strain, Allen admitted this past Friday that he was more confident the quarterback would be available for a Week 9 matchup with the Panthers. The Saints will see how Carr responds to throwing on consecutive days before potentially clearing him for some practice this week. If he doesn't make enough progress in his recovery to play Sunday, Allen said that he plans to have rookie Spencer Rattler make a third straight start.

The Browns are expected to sign Zappe off Kansas City's practice squad Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

With Deshaun Watson (Achilles) likely headed for injured reserve and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (finger) at risk of missing Sunday's game against the Ravens, the Browns will bring Zappe aboard to provide some depth behind Jameis Winston. Zappe joined Kansas City in late August after being cut by the Patriots, with whom he made 14 appearances (eight starts) over his first two NFL seasons.