Browns name Deshaun Watson starting QB to begin season

The Cleveland Browns have made a quarterback decision: Deshaun Watson will be the starter for the beginning of the 2026 season, the team announced on Monday.

First-year Browns coach Todd Monken values Watson’s seven seasons of NFL experience and believes Watson is healthy after he sat out the entire 2025 season while rehabbing a twice-torn right Achilles tendon.

It was time for Monken to make a decision between Watson and second-year pro Shedeur Sanders so that the remade Cleveland offense could move to the next phase of its season preparation. But after a contentious weekend, the timing is as strange as the Browns’ willingness to even give Watson another shot.

What to expect from Deshaun Watson as the Browns' starting QB

Watson is entering the final year of the five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract he signed after the Browns gave up three first-round picks to acquire him from the Houston Texans in 2022, as Watson faced accusations of sexual assault and misconduct from more than 20 women.

Watson started just 19 games over his first three seasons with Cleveland, and the team still has around $86 million in salary-cap commitments to him after this season, which almost certainly will be Watson’s last with the Browns, who figure to have one of the league’s youngest rosters.

Watson and Sanders alternated days operating the No. 1 offense throughout the spring and on every day but one through the first 18 practices of training camp. They split the reps in Thursday’s joint practice with the Buffalo Bills, and each started one preseason game. Watson started and played the first half in the preseason opener in Chicago on Aug. 15, and Sanders started Saturday’s second preseason game against Buffalo, in which most starters didn’t play.

Things took a strange but inevitable turn during that game when the home crowd booed Watson as he entered in the third quarter of what was ultimately a 31-7 loss. The Browns went three-and-out on Watson’s first two series, which brought more boos. Then Watson threw an interception on a high pass intended for Gage Larvadain.

After the game, Watson called out the fans who booed and acknowledged he is not sure whether he can handle the negativity coming from Browns fans, saying it’s “personal” and that he might have to approach the season as if there are “17 road games.”

How the decision was made

Monken obviously thinks Watson gives the Browns the best chance to win early in a season that starts with six of the first nine games on the road. That could be a good thing, because Watson will almost certainly get booed again on Thursday when the Browns host New England in the preseason finale for both teams.

After a rocky, interception-laden start to training camp, Watson had some of his best practices in early August ahead of the preseason opener. Though Watson committed a turnover in both preseason games, Monken has admitted to having “anxiety” about Sanders’ lack of experience in handling the entire offensive operation.

Monken has stressed since June that he’s proud of Sanders’ improvement and that he believes he has two starting-quality quarterbacks, but it was really past time for Monken to choose one.

Neither Watson nor Sanders was clearly better than the other over the course of spring and almost four full weeks of training camp. Watson guided the Browns to two scoring drives on six series against the Bears, and Sanders had a touchdown drive and an interception that derailed another promising possession against Buffalo.

Part of the delay in the decision was the lack of a clear winner, but Monken long viewed Watson’s experience and mobility as pluses. Can Watson elevate the play of those around him and handle any public backlash if the Browns struggle? We’ll see.

What to expect

It’s hard to say. The Browns clearly upgraded their receiving corps in the offseason with the arrival of NFL Draft picks KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, and both have already established themselves as key cogs of the offense. But the Browns basically have an entirely new line and offensive scheme, and Watson’s first preseason snap in Chicago was his first live action in almost 22 months.

Watson is one of 60 quarterbacks to start at least 10 games since the Browns acquired him in 2022. He ranks 59th among those 60 in EPA per pass play. Journeyman backup Zach Wilson is 60th.

What’s ahead

The Browns have just two practice days this week ahead of their Thursday night preseason finale against New England. All 32 teams must trim their rosters to the regular-season size of 53 by Sunday. The first round of the 2027 NFL Draft is April 29.

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