All eyes are on downtown Cleveland today, where the city’s sports stage is packed from early afternoon into the evening.
It starts at 1 p.m., when the Browns host the Baltimore Ravens. A Browns win would move them into first place in the AFC North Division.
Then comes the second act at 5 p.m., when the Guardians face the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. If Saturday night’s result breaks a certain way, a win later today could send the Guardians to the World Series.
And even if that doesn’t happen, both Cleveland teams winning on the same day would still set up an epic Victory Monday.
Before all that gets underway, here’s the latest Sunday Dawg Chow.
Jared Mueller notes that the Browns’ practice squad moves could be a clue to the Week 6 status of three key injured starters, with today’s inactive list potentially looking anything but routine as the team works through injuries.
Mueller also takes on the broader quarterback picture around the league, asking whether anyone really knows anything about quarterbacks in the NFL and pointing out how rare true franchise QBs are over the long haul.
Over at Dawgs By Nature, Terry Pluto looks at how the Browns can respond after a rough week and deal with the latest “construction zone” as Baltimore comes to town.
The Beacon Journal says the Browns’ focus may shift to Tyler Huntley if Lamar Jackson is unavailable, but the message stays the same either way: Cleveland needs the win.
Browns Zone reports that Todd Monken called the Ravens matchup “not personal … strictly business,’ but not everyone believes him.
And on clevelandbrowns.com, the question is how the Browns can slow down Derrick Henry, with the team having had success against him before and hoping that trend holds today.
Around the NFL, the Eagles have placed quarterback Jalen Hurts on injured reserve with no timeline for return, ESPN says the Rams still can’t get their special teams fixed, and The Athletic reports that Mike Pettine is ready to bring his experience to the Cowboys defense, saying, ‘I needed to answer the call’ (The Athletic).
In Other News...
Browns Trade Buzz Puts One Andrew Berry QB Decision Under Spotlight
The Browns are still sorting through one of the NFLs most watched quarterback situations, and it keeps circling back to Andrew Berrys long-term plan. Cleveland is still looking for a franchise answer at the position, while Deshaun Watsons future remains clouded by uncertainty tied to his contract and injury history. In that backdrop, second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders recently added a fresh layer of intrigue when he hired an agent, a move that naturally set off trade chatter around the league.
But the buzz runs up against the reality of how Cleveland views Sanders, which is why a move looks unlikely for now. Berry reportedly values him highly, and with Sanders still on his rookie contract for more than two seasons, the Browns have time on their side even as the bigger quarterback picture stays unsettled. For a team trying to balance present uncertainty with a long-range plan, that makes Sanders one of the more interesting names on the roster to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Andre Szmyt Just Forced A Browns Decision Fans Didn't Expect
Andre Szmyt has turned a low-key roster spot into one of the more interesting decisions the Browns may have to make. The undrafted kicker has been steady over the past two seasons, converting 34 of 37 field goal attempts and 32 of 34 extra points, and his current run has put him on the verge of one of the better streaks in franchise history.
The bigger question now is whether Cleveland treats that production like a short-term solution or a longer-term answer. Szmyt is under contract for the 2026 season, but with his consistency climbing and his streak already at 24 straight, the Browns may have a choice to make sooner than expected about whether to keep him in place beyond a one-year deal. [Read more 🡒]
Andrew Berry Could Put Key Browns Starters On The Trade Block
With four games left before the NFL trade deadline, the Browns find themselves in a familiar kind of midseason gray area: good enough at 3-2 to stay in the hunt, but not so settled that the front office can ignore what comes next. Cleveland also has draft capital at its disposal, which gives general manager Andrew Berry some room to maneuver if the season starts to tilt in the wrong direction.
That is where the chatter around several potential trade candidates starts to matter, including Grant Delpit, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Myles Collins, Jedrick Jenkins, Tim Patrick Jeudy and Jerome Sanders. Contract considerations and the teams place in the standings could all factor into whether Berry looks to add for a push or instead turn some of those names into future draft picks, leaving the roster picture just as much a story about October uncertainty as November planning. [Read more 🡒]