Watson eyes starting job
The Houston Texans traded up in the 2017 NFL Draft to snag former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Tom Savage is the team’s starter, but the rookie Watson isn’t far behind.
Tom Savage is Houston’s starting quarterback for now, but coach Bill O’Brien is keeping a keen eye on rookie Deshaun Watson, charting his progress as the Texans prepare for their season opener.
When the Texans traded up 13 picks to take Watson 12th overall in this year’s draft many assumed that the Clemson standout would immediately move into the starting role.
Instead the Texans insisted that Savage was their starter and have operated that way throughout training camp with the third-year player getting the bulk of the snaps with the first team.
That hasn’t stopped O’Brien from being questioned about Watson and his progress every day.
Sometimes he’ll talk about the rookie quarterback, but often he steers his comments back to his starting quarterback.
“I think we have a really good situation here,” O’Brien said. “We have Tom. He’s had a good camp. He’s thrown the ball well, he’s done some good things ... but Deshaun’s had a good camp, too, so it’s been very productive for both guys.”
The interest in Watson was already high after he became the first quarterback the Texans drafted in the first round since taking David Carr with the first overall pick in their first season.
“He’s ahead of where some rookies I’ve been around have been,” O’Brien said. “I’ve seen him be able to do that. I think he needs to do it more consistently, but he works very hard to get it right. If he doesn’t get it right away on the field, he goes into the meeting room and tries to fix it.”
Seattle signs Brock
The Seattle Seahawks have added depth to their secondary by signing former San Francisco starting cornerback Tramaine Brock.
Brock started 31 of 32 games over the past two seasons for the 49ers, but was released during the offseason after he was arrested and accused of hitting a woman he was dating. Brock was charged with felony domestic violence in June, but those charges were dismissed last week by the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office after the office said there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case because the accuser declined to cooperate.
Newton watches against Titans, Panthers pick off Mariota
Cam Newton’s best during the Panthers-Titans joint practice Wednesday came while the quarterback was dancing during warmups.
That was the most action the quarterback saw with Carolina limiting his workouts because of a sore shoulder.
Marcus Mariota has no such limitations, and he showed off his healthy leg with a nice run for the Tennessee Titans. Unfortunately for Mariota, the Panthers picked off the Titans quarterback not once, but twice.
“It’s stuff that we can learn from, and that’s what’s big about this,” Mariota said.
Rain forced a one-hour delay to the first of two joint practices between the Panthers and Titans at Tennessee’s headquarters. The skies cleared long enough for a steamy and physical two-hour practice that remained very professional.
Does Osweiler have the job?
After weeks of speculation, analysis and evaluation, the Browns’ quarterback competition is headed into its home stretch.
Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas believes it’s over — Brock Osweiler will start the season opener on Sept. 10 against Pittsburgh.
“I could be totally wrong,” Thomas said Wednesday. “I might be going out on a limb here, but I think they’re grooming Brock to be the starter in Week 1 based on what I’ve seen.”
Cravens has knee surgery
Washington Redskins safety Su’a Cravens had knee surgery and there’s no official timeline for him to return.
Coach Jay Gruden says Cravens had a knee scope to clean out some issues with his meniscus. Gruden says Cravens was injured on the third play of the Redskins’ first preseason game last week at Baltimore.
With Cravens out, Deshazor Everett has taken most of the snaps as the first-team free safety and could start there when the Redskins host the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.