Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson got away with shoving an official during Monday night’s game.

In the third quarter, Watson was flagged for unnecessary roughness for grabbing the facemask of Pittsburgh’s Kwon Alexander and holding onto it even after both players were out of bounds on the Steelers’ sideline. After the play, Watson lingered near the sideline and exchanged words with the Steelers.

At that point umpire Barry Anderson stepped in front of Watson and tried to direct him back to the field, and Watson shoved Anderson to the side to continue jawing with Steelers players.

Related players: Dorian Thompson-Robinson

Watson was not flagged for the shove, even though the NFL rulebook says under the “Prohibited acts” section that “Under no circumstance is a player allowed to shove, push, or strike an official” and that “The player shall be disqualified from the game,” the story went on to say. The story added the missed shove seems like a blown call and the league office may hand down its own discipline. Pro Football Talk went on to say on X, "All plays will be evaluated and assessed today."

Per Zac, Elijah Moore was frequently targeted by Deshaun Watson throughout Wednesday's practice, mostly on quick passes. Their best connection of the day came in a red-zone 7-on-7 period for a touchdown as Moore used a double move and turned to see the ball delivered right where he wanted it. The Browns are clearly stressing three things: fast tempo, an attacking mindset on defense, and feeding wide receiver Moore.

Related Players: Marquise Brown, David Bell, Donovan Peoples-Jones

Jackson would continue later in the article; "We’re seeing Moore line up in different spots and plenty of Moore going in motion. How his exact role shakes out remains to be seen, but from two open practices, it’s clear the Browns want to get him the ball on short passes and let him create."

This is good news for Moore and those of us who wanted to see him get another chance after his interesting talent set was left to die on the vine while catching passes from the Zach Wilsons of the world. If the Browns really do use him in the inside and outside, there is a chance we can see Moore in some 2WR sets this season.

After an 11-game suspension for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy, Browns  QB Deshaun Watson has complied with all the terms and now is officially back and active.

Related Players: Jacoby Brissett

Coming off a huge win against the Buccaneers, Cleveland will now be playing Watson's former Texans. Brissett was the QB17 in points per game up to this point in the season, so that will operate as Watson's absolute floor.

Deshaun Watson practiced with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday for the first time since Aug. 30. But with the quarterback sidelined for two more games as part of his 11-game suspension, coach Kevin Stefanski said the team's priority remains preparing quarterback Jacoby Brissett to play.

"This is the next step for [Watson]; it's good to have him back on the field," Stefanski said. "But the most important thing right now is getting ready for Buffalo and getting Jacoby ready."

Since Oct. 10, Watson has been allowed to sit in on team meetings and work out at the Browns' training facility. But until Wednesday, Watson had left the training facility when the Browns practiced, throwing and practicing on his own, the story said. The team is expected to start Watson in Week 13 at Houston.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry announced that he expects Deshaun Watson to play against the Texans at NRG Stadium.

Related players: Jacoby Brissett

We're slowly getting closer to seeing Watson back on the field. There have been reports from the league that said Watson has followed all the guidelines to this point, so unless there are surprises between now and then, Watson should be on the field in Week 13 when the Browns travel, ironically, to Houston. For many, Week 13 will be the final week of the fantasy regular season.

The suspension also includes a $5 million donation to charity. DeShaun Watson is scheduled to return to action in Week 13 against the Houston Texans.

Related Players: Jacoby Brissett, Amari Cooper, David Njoku, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt

Watson remains borderline-undraftable in all but the deepest redraft leagues, and the entire skill position group should receive a downgrade with Jacoby Brissett in as quarterback. It's very possible that the team leans more run-heavy, which would benefit Nick Chubb, but if the offense as a whole is less efficient, that would presumably level out over the course of three-quarters of the season.

The message on Monday was that a settlement remained viable. At this point, every minute that Peter Harvey doesn’t issue a ruling means that a settlement can still happen in the DeShaun Watson case. And because the NFL, as a practical matter, controls Harvey, he’ll wait until the NFL tells him that settlement talks have hit a brick wall.

That’s the bottom line. No ruling until no settlement.

The story went on to say the league surely wants at least 12 games and Watson is willing to take 8. The obvious middle ground is 10 games, plus a fine that converts all or part of 2021 into an unpaid suspension by taking up to the full $10 million in salary that he received last year. As previously mentioned, both sides need to be committed to selling to the public that last year was, as a practical matter, a paid suspension, since he didn’t play in 2021 due to the off-field issue.

The NFL is appealing Watson's six-game suspension, according to a report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Goodell will now determine who will hear the appeal, according to a statement from NFL public relations head Brian McCarthy.

The story said earlier this week, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network suggested the NFL would be appealing the decision and handing down a much stiffer punishment. "Multiple league sources and legal experts predict that the NFL will exercise its right to file an appeal within three days and that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will significantly increase the punishment levied against the three-time Pro Bowl passer that included no fine," Wilson said. According to the story, Wilson also suggested Goodell could add an additional four to six games to the suspension. Wilson also said the commish could seek a season-long suspension and fine in the millions.

More than two years after the first civil lawsuit was filed against Deshaun Watson, disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson has suspended the Cleveland Browns quarterback for the first six games of the 2022 season, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Robinson, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association to rule on the case and administer any punishment, listened to arguments from the league, the union and Watson's attorney during a three-day hearing held in her home state of Delaware in late June. The NFL had been pushing for a suspension of at least a year, while the union and Watson's attorney argued that the quarterback should not be suspended at all. The sides discussed a potential settlement all the way up through the hearing, but they could not agree to a deal.

John Paulsen's take: Projections have been updated to reflect a six-game suspension for Watson, though the league can still appeal the ruling. This is good news for the Browns' skill position players since they'll have a top-10 quarterback for roughly two-thirds of the season, so Amari Cooper, David Njoku and the rest of the offense gets a bump. Watson's draft value will be higher than where he falls in the rankings due to the available replacement value for the first six weeks. Managers could stream the position until Watson's return.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski clarifies the QB depth chart, after the addition of Josh Rosen: “Jacoby Brissett is our backup quarterback. If Deshaun Watson is unavailable, Jacoby’s our starter.”

Brissett will likely only have value in deeper leagues if he's forced into action, and the Browns plan to get him first-team reps to get him ready - assuming Watson is suspended. Brissett under center will decrease the value of the entire passing game as the Browns will be forced to become run-heavy.