The Cleveland Browns will be without their starting quarterback on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
On Sunday morning, Deshaun Watson was ruled out for the Browns vs the Ravens, according to multiple reports. Cleveland rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will start for the Browns in place of Watson.
Deshaun Watson is not able to play today, source says. The #Browns turn to their backup. https://t.co/Mwr5oUqCFX
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 1, 2023
What Deshaun Watson Injury News Means for Bettors
The Browns had been 3-point favorites (-3) against the Ravens at most sportsbooks before news came out late in the week that Watson was questionable with a shoulder injury. At that point, the line moved to Browns -1.5, then back to Browns -2.5 when Watson said that he expected to play agains the Ravens.
Following the reports that Watson was out for the Browns vs the Ravens, the line moved all the way to Ravens -1.5, a 4-point swing from the previous line.
According to our NFL betting expert and head of predictive analytics, Sean Koerner, Deshaun Watson is worth 3 to 3.5 points against the spread relative to Brown rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. And according to Koerner, that was still true when the Browns were -3.
Therefore, the line has moved a total of 4.5 points away from Cleveland, and given how valuable Watson is to the spread, that might be an overreaction of a full point.
This is a developing story.
