Week 9 arrives with two quarterback rooms in flux and a trade in the works

Cleveland's day-to-day call

Cleveland's Deshaun Watson was placed in the NFL concussion protocol on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, after reporting concussion symptoms to the medical staff on Tuesday morning. Head coach Todd Monken has not ruled Watson out for the Week 9 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, leaving the decision to the protocol rather than the depth chart. m:…6427

The team is preparing as if the backup plays. Shedeur Sanders took first-team reps during Wednesday's practice, and the coaching staff is planning extra walkthroughs and meetings for him ahead of a potential start. The team's own audio channel reports Sanders is expected to start against the Saints. m:…6427 m:…0083

Sanders has barely played this season: two completed passes for two yards in Week 8 against Pittsburgh, and one completed pass in Week 3 against Carolina. The matchup offers some room: Cleveland is 5-3, the Saints are 2-5, and the Saints defense ranks 28th overall in the NFL. m:…6427 m:…0083

Baltimore's trade

Baltimore, sitting at 4-4 and describing itself as a buyer at the trade deadline, has reportedly traded for 11-year veteran Jacoby Brissett, according to the team's mailbag, while a Cardinals report says the deal is expected to be completed in the coming days and that Brissett has already said goodbye to his teammates. Brissett has started 73 career games and had been moved to third on the Arizona depth chart this week. m:…9863 m:…8794

The need is plain. Lamar Jackson is out with a thumb injury and Tyler Huntley is out with a toe injury, and undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano is slated to start against the Jaguars in the interim. A Cardinals report describes both injuries as season-ending, which would make Brissett more than a one-week patch. m:…9863 m:…8794

The team's own account of its recent problems points beyond the quarterback room: the offensive line allowed 15 pressures against Buffalo, and second-half defensive struggles were attributed to pass coverage breakdowns, poor tackling and increased opponent time of possession. A new quarterback fixes only one of those. m:…9863

A third quarterback room

The same Cardinals report that carries the Brissett news also carries a third quarterback problem: Sam Darnold will miss the game against the Cardinals with a quad injury, and the Browns' audio show likewise reports that Darnold has been ruled out for Sunday's game and is considered week-to-week. Drew Lock is expected to fill in for Darnold, which is itself a contingency on a contingency: Lock missed the last two games with an elbow injury, though he did start against the Cardinals in Week 2 of the current season. m:…8794 m:…0083

That makes three separate Week 9 quarterback stories running at once, each with a different mechanism: a concussion protocol in Cleveland, a trade in Baltimore, and an injury replacement of an injury replacement elsewhere. The common thread is how little of it was planned. None of these three teams opened the week expecting to spend it this way, and all three will spend Sunday finding out whether a week of backup preparation is enough. m:…6427 m:…9863

What it means

Two teams that expected to be settled at quarterback in November are instead spending Week 9 on contingency plans. Cleveland's call depends on a medical protocol, Baltimore's on a trade being finalized, and in both cases the backup's preparation this week matters more than the starter's status on paper. m:…6427 m:…8794