NFL Catchup: Latest On Browns QB Battle; Shade In Dallas? Broncos Interested In QB?

Most of the NFL’s 32 teams haven’t completed a full week of training camp practices yet, but there’s still been plenty of news and updates from around the league. The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition has dominated some of the social media chatter through the opening days of training camp. Who has the upper hand there? Elsewhere, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made more headlines over the weekend, and the Denver Broncos might be in the mix to add some depth at quarterback as Bo Nix shared an encouraging update about his ankle. Here’s what to know from what happened around the NFL this weekend: In Cleveland, the competition for the starting quarterback spot is officially underway. Browns general manager Andrew Berry noted that Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders still have a “long way to go” in their depth chart battle. “Both those guys, and really that entire room, deserve a lot of credit for putting together a really good offseason program, really working hard with the new staff, learning the offense,” Berry told NFL Network. “The reality of it is, we’re only three days into training camp. So we’ve got a long way to go before any decisions are made.” Berry emphasized that head coach Todd Monken and his staff will ultimately decide who takes the field in Week 1, evaluating a room that also includes Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green. The decision will be performance-based, taking into account the full body of work over the coming weeks. Sanders is coming off a rookie campaign where he started seven games, leading Cleveland to three wins while completing 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Watson hasn’t played since 2024 following injuries and inconsistent play across his three seasons in Cleveland. Highlighting early camp adjustments, Watson was intercepted in the end zone by safety Donovan McMillon during Saturday’s practice session. Sanders has completed 13 of 22 passes with four touchdowns and an interception during team drills, while Watson has completed 12 of 19 passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions, according to ESPN Cleveland. The quarterback battle could stretch well into the preseason, which opens Aug. 15 against the Chicago Bears. Cleveland hopes to have its starter locked in before opening the regular season on Sept. 13 at Jacksonville. The Denver Broncos enter the season with unfinished business. Coming off an AFC Championship loss that saw quarterback Bo Nix sidelined by a broken right ankle in the divisional round, the team faces high expectations as they look for another deep playoff run. Expectations in Denver are at an all-time high following the offseason addition of Pro Bowl wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. To make matters better, Nix says he feels “great” as he returns from his season-ending ankle injury, according to DNVR Sports. “Nothing is holding me back,” Nix told reporters after the weekend. Even after adding Waddle and getting Nix back, the Broncos may not be finished retooling their roster for the season. Head coach Sean Payton said the team will explore signing free agent quarterback and Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill, according to NFL Network. Hill played for Payton when the latter was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints for five seasons. Hill announced last week that his time in New Orleans was over. After Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger are the other quarterbacks on the Broncos’ roster. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is open to adjusting the iconic glare at AT&T Stadium. After FIFA required the stadium to close its curtains during the World Cup to block the sun during matches played in the afternoon, Jones admitted he is giving thought to tinting the windows facing west. “Thinking about it and doing something about it are two different things… But I’ll think about it,” Jones told reporters. “The sun changes, and the angle of that sun changes from September through year-round. But as we look at it, I like some of the effects of the tinting. And so we’re giving that a thought.” While the stadium’s East-West setup has historically forced teams to navigate direct sunlight during afternoon kickoffs, it hasn’t always been an advantage to the Cowboys, who have also had to deal with the blinding sun. In fact, there was a memorable moment when Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said he couldn’t catch a ball thrown at him due to the sun getting in his eyesight in 2024. Travis Hunter’s return to the field this season will be one of the biggest storylines among the league’s young players as he tries to once again play both sides of the ball for the Jaguars. As Hunter works his way back from an injury that cut his rookie season short, he gave Jaguars fans a reason to be excited over the weekend. The Jaguars released a video showing Hunter making a tightly contested catch on a pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Shortly after, he delivered another standout play on defense, intercepting backup Nick Mullens. While Hunter stars at Jaguars camp, he’s looking to bounce back from an underwhelming rookie campaign. He played in just seven games before he suffered a knee injury in practice that cut his season short. Hunter didn’t produce much when he was healthy, either. He had 28 receptions for 298 yards and a touchdown to go with 15 total tackles and zero interceptions. He played 324 snaps at receiver and 162 snaps at cornerback. The Jaguars’ plan to use Hunter on both sides of the ball has not changed, especially after the Jaguars shored up the core of their secondary by re-signing Montaric “Buster” Brown in March. “How do we balance his reps here, knowing that we’re trying to ease him in, but he also at some point needs to get double the amount that a normal player gets,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen recently told reporters. “So what does that ramp-up look like? We have it all kind of mapped out … on every single practice schedule, his reps are highlighted in here — where he’s in, what plays he’s in, where he’s at on the field. We’ve been extremely intentional about it.” Hunter was limited during offseason workouts because of his surgery in November. But he used that time to build up some 10 pounds of muscle in his upper body and managed to get even faster. He was actually clocked running at 22.6 mph at the team’s facility last week. “I was a small guy coming in. Everybody was like, ’Gain weight, gain weight,’” Hunter told reporters. “I was scared at first. I’m like ‘Dang, I’ve never played at this weight. I’m going to feel heavy, not going to be able to do what I do.’ Training and being able to put those months in — not just on the grass but in the weight room — just putting in extra work, it made me feel lighter on my feet when I finally touched the grass.” Rams head coach Sean McVay only intensified the chatter that Aaron Donald will unretire and re-join the team for the 2026 season. McVay told reporters that Donald is “trending upwards” following the Rams’ practice on Friday. However, McVay also indicated that Donald’s return likely won’t happen until later in August, at the earliest. “That’ll be something that, I think, once we get back to Woodland Hills, we’ll have a better idea of what that timeline looks like. There won’t be any decision and anything in terms of Aaron’s situation while we’re here. That’s kind of already been set out when we’ve talked for the past couple weeks,” McVay said. Los Angeles is practicing at Marymount University through Aug. 6, and it’s scheduled to return to its practice facility in San Fernando Valley after that. Our Eric D. Williams reported in late July that Donald was leaning toward returning after multiple months of speculation.