The New Orleans Saints may have just caught a break as Deshaun Watson entered concussion protocol days before the Cleveland Browns visit the Caesars Superdome. His status is up in the air for Sunday, but if he isn't cleared to play, the Saints will face Shedeur Sanders instead.
This feels like a bit of a must win for the Saints coming out of the bye week. This makes the chances of victory take jump up. Watson has been playing surprisingly well this year, so this projects to be a big drop off.
At the same time, the Saints haven't shown the ability to take anyone lightly. J.J. McCarthy took the team by surprise and almost led a comeback. The Saints will have a couple of days to prepare for Sanders, who hasn't looked great in his limited time playing, and this is an opportunity they can't afford to squander.
The Tyler Shough vs Shedeur Sanders debate can regain steam
There was a bit of a big 3 in last year's draft class at the quarterback position. Shough has been the best of the class since entering the league, but he wasn't in that big 3 conversation for the masses around draft time. Yes, there were some executives, analysts and fans who Shough as the best quarterback, but the conversation largely centered around Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart and Sanders.
The Saints were even connected to Sanders leading up to the draft. Remember Deion Sanders alluding to his son playing for the Saints by saying he really liked these colors, a belief he would later confirm. Shedeur Sanders may have plummeted in the draft, but once upon of time he was looked at as a potential top-10 pick and a potential future Saint.
Ward and Dart were already off the board when the Saints picked in second round, but Sanders was sitting right there for the picking. Some thought the Saints would pick him in the first round, so it was a no brainer in the second. Then, they picked Shough.
Many fans didn't understand it at the time. It didn't take long for it to be clear the Saints made the right decision, but head to head battles have a way of bringing old conversations back to the forefront.
Shough can stomp this conversation out with a strong game, but he'l have a tougher task than Sanders because he'll be facing a better passing defense. However, context won't matter to some. This is a great opportunity to show he was the best quarterback in the draft, and the Saints made the right decision.
If the Saints lose and Sanders has a good game, there will certainly be a small contigent of people saying that's who the Saints should have drafted. His fans are that loyal. It's on Shough to ensure we don't even have to hear a loud minority.
Add us as a preferred source on Google