Deshaun Watson: Everything you need to know

Head coach Todd Monken said Friday that a leader has yet to emerge in the quarterback competition between Watson and Shedeur Sanders, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports. Watson and Sanders rotated first-team opportunities during Cleveland's three-day voluntary minicamp, with Watson usually first in line for drills but Sanders taking more total reps. Monken has maintained that he would like to name a starting quarterback before the Browns open training camp in late July, but the coach said that it's too early in the process to make that decision at this point.

Watson reportedly emerged from last week's voluntary minicamp with an edge over Shedeur Sanders in the Browns' quarterback competition, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The report notes that coach Todd Monken hopes to identify the team's starter by the end of Browns minicamp June 9-11, with Watson and Sanders viewed as the top two contenders for the role, while Dillon Gabriel and 2026 sixth-rounder Taylen Green are also in the mix to a lesser degree. Per Cabot, at this stage Watson --- who didn't see game action in 2025 due to an Achilles' injury -- appears to have the inside track to the assignment, but Sanders still has time to close the gap before Monken makes the call. In any case, the signal caller that ultimately gets the nod will be in line to helm a Cleveland passing offense that returns WRs Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman, as well as TE Harold Fannin, and is also set to welcome a pair of talented rookie wideouts in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said Monday at the NFL owners' meetings that Watson (Achilles) has a "great chance" to compete for the team's No. 1 quarterback job this offseason, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports. Haslam called this offseason a "fresh start" for Watson, who last suited up for NFL action in October of 2024 when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The 30-year-old then re-ruptured the same tendon in January of 2025 and subsequentially missed all of last season. Watson is now heading into the final year of the five-year, $230 million deal he inked with Cleveland in 2022, and in early March he agreed to restructure his contract to clear up roughly $35 million in cap space. Barring any further additions to the QB room, Watson's main competition will be a Shedeur Sanders, who started the final seven games of 2025, though Dillon Gabriel also remains in house. Watson is presumably now healthy, as the Browns opened his 21-day practice window in December and allowed him to practice in a limited capacity, though he did revert to the PUP list. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Haslam said Watson will be present for the start of voluntary workouts April 7 and begin working with new head coach Todd Monken.