The Cleveland Browns have named Deshaun Watson the starter for the team’s season opener at the Jaguars, beating out Shedeur Sanders for the starting role, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. It will be Watson’s first game since Oct. 10, 2024, when he tore his Achilles. He re-tore his Achilles in early January 2025, causing him to miss all of last year.
The decision comes just two days after Watson took several shots at Browns fans following his poor performance in preseason Week 2 against the Bills. Watson was just 5 of 12 passing for 35 yards and an interception, playing with (and against) backups in the third and fourth quarters while boos rained down.
“I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance,” Watson stated. “It’s a little bit more personal than that. So, I think it’s a disrespectful thing.”
Todd Monken insisted Sunday that the comments wouldn’t impact his quarterback choice.
Deshaun Watson
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Watson was regarded as a slight leader for much of the quarterback battle, often earning the first reps with the first team, even if the overall reps with the starters ended up somewhat evenly split. Watson started in preseason Week 1 alongside starters, while Sanders started in preseason Week 2 with mostly backups. Even so, Monken, in his first year as a head coach, stated the competition played out in “the best way I thought we could go about it.”
Watson, who turns 31 the day after the Browns’ season opener, has been a monumental disappointment in Cleveland, and his acquisition has been regarded as one of the worst in major professional sports history. In 2022, the Browns traded 2022, 2023 and 2024 first-round picks, a third-round pick and two fourth-round picks to the Houston Texans for Watson and a sixth-round pick. The Browns then gave Watson an unprecedented, fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
At the time, Watson faced 22 civil lawsuits related to allegations of sexual misconduct at massage therapy sessions. The number eventually grew to 27. All 27 have been resolved, with at least 24 ending in confidential settlements. The last two were dismissed — at least one with a settlement — earlier this year. The Texans also previously reached confidential settlements with 30 women over claims regarding Watson.
Watson did not play at all in his final season in Houston (2021) and was suspended for the first 11 games of 2022 after being traded to Cleveland. In total, he has appeared in just 19 games since the trade, and he was among the NFL’s worst quarterbacks when on the field.
| Deshaun Watson (2022-24) | Rank (out of 44) | |
|---|---|---|
|
Completion percentage |
61.2% |
40th |
|
Net yards per attempt |
5.4 |
43rd |
|
Sack rate |
11.2% |
43rd |
|
EPA per dropback |
-0.19 |
43rd |
The Browns hope an improved supporting cast helps lift Watson. Cleveland overhauled its offensive line, bringing in four new starters, and drafted wide receiver KC Concepcion in the first round and wide receiver Denzel Boston in the second round. Both have impressed in training camp and are expected to start right away. The Browns also return tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and running back Quinshon Judkins after both had impressive rookie years.
This is the final year of Watson’s contract.
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As Monken stated Saturday, the second preseason game was just another data point in a set of hundreds, ranging far past games and even practices. And as he stated Sunday, Watson’s comments about the fans wouldn’t impact his decision. He appears to have held true to both.
Watson had been the front-runner, even if ever so slightly, for quite a bit, according to various reports. His chance to start in the first preseason game, alongside the starters, was an indication of that, even if Monken stated both Watson and Sanders would each get a preseason start (something he held true to as well). For as poorly as Watson played Saturday, he held up decently — nothing special, but nothing disastrous — the previous week, and Monken described his return to playing football as “awesome.”
Watson’s experience and ability to function in the offense were also keys; after all, he has been in far more NFL offenses, including those with more parallels to Monken’s. Furthermore, Watson impressed this offseason with his approach and work ethic, per “NFL on CBS” sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala.
“In all the years I have been around Deshaun Watson, this is the best that he is mentally,” Kinkhabwala told 92.3 The Fan last week. “The space that he is in right now, his focus, the way that he stayed in Cleveland all summer, went to work quietly every day, didn’t ask anything of any of the staff in the building at all, was simply focused on living with his wife and working on football and his rehab. Just the conversations I have with him on the side — different.”
It is also worth noting, in light of Watson’s most recent comments, that the Browns’ first two games — Week 1 at the Jaguars and Week 2 at the Buccaneers — are on the road.
“I feel like I get more love on road games than I do home games,” Watson stated. “If it is my spot and he does makes me the [starter], maybe it’s 17 away games then. I don’t know.”
