Browns Digest

As Cardinals Shift QB Plan, Spread Shifts Even More Toward Browns

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon pivoted his QB plans on Monday, opting to bench former Browns QB Joshua Dobbs
Spencer German|
As Cardinals Shift QB Plan, Spread Shifts Even More Toward Browns
As Cardinals Shift QB Plan, Spread Shifts Even More Toward Browns

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Cleveland Browns

It didn't take long for the line for the Browns matchup with the Cardinals this weekend to shift even further in favor of Cleveland.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon originally announced that quarterback Joshua Dobbs would be starting under center against his former team in Cleveland. One day later he changed his tune.

Gannon back tracked during his Monday media session, stating that after watching the tape it will either be star quarterback Kyler Murray or fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune under center in Week 9.

 

One might think the prospect of Murray playing would shift the spread more favorably toward the Cardinals, but oddly enough what started as a -6.5-point spread for Cleveland via the SI Sportsbook ballooned to an -8.5 line after Gannon's announcement.

Whether or not Murray actually plays this week appears to be dependent on his progress throughout the week. He's been slowly but surely working  his way back from a torn ACL last December and spent the beginning portion of the season on his team's physically unable to perform list.

He was activated off the PUP list on Oct. 18, opening up a 21 day window for the team to decide when to officially make him active. Should Murray end up starting, it would be his first game action in more than 320 days, which could explain the line shifting even more in favor of Cleveland. That long of a layoff is likely to come with a reacclimation period. 

For Tune, it would be his first career NFL start, which brings it's own set of unknowns and challenges, particularly against.a stout Browns defense.

While Arizona sorts through its quarterback situation, Cleveland will, once again, do the same this week, as the team continues to monitor Deshaun Watson's injured shoulder. Head coach Kevin Stefanski wasn't ready to rule Watson out or available during his Monday press conference.

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Spencer German
SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

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