The Cleveland Browns have spent much of training camp figuring out who their starting quarterback will be. After getting hired to be the team’s new head coach, Todd Monken revealed that there would be an open competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, with Dillon Gabriel set to slot in behind them as the No. 3 option on the depth chart.
For much of camp, Watson has appeared to be the frontrunner, but a poor performance in the preseason against the Buffalo Bills and some controversial comments made after the game seemingly opened the door for Sanders to steal the starting job. On Monday morning, though, the Browns revealed that Watson had successfully fended off Sanders and won the starting quarterback job.
Browns Name Deshaun Watson Their Starting Quarterback Over Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders will be the backup.
Back in March 2022, the Browns went all in on Watson, as they picked him up in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Texans, which saw them give up three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and two fourth-round picks in exchange for the three-time Pro Bowler. Cleveland also handed Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract, even though he sat out the entire 2021 campaign and was facing a bevy of sexual assault accusations.
Simply put, this move has gone down as one of the worst in the history of the NFL. Watson has missed a ton of time due to injuries and a lengthy suspension for his aforementioned off-field issues, but even when he’s been on the field, he’s been awful. In four years, Watson has played in just 19 total games for the Browns, racking up 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns in the air.
With Watson still being guaranteed $46 million for the 2026 campaign, Cleveland almost had nothing to lose by seeing if he still had anything to offer on the field. While Sanders has shown promise early in his career, the Browns are going to open the season with Watson as their starting quarterback at the very least, as he has won the job over the 2025 fifth-round pick.
“BREAKING: The Browns are naming Deshaun Watson as their starting QB, per multiple sources. Shedeur Sanders will be the backup,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported in a post on X.
Browns Giving Deshaun Watson One Last Shot to Find His Way
GettyDeshaun Watson #4 of the Cleveland Browns
With so much guaranteed money still left on his deal, the Browns can’t really afford to move on from Watson, especially since this is the last year of his contract. They may as well bite the bullet and hang onto him, and if they are going to do that, why not play him? Sanders was solid throughout the summer, but he didn’t exactly wow the team’s coaching staff, so giving him more time to develop behind the scenes makes sense.
Even though Watson is the starting quarterback for the time being, he is going to be playing on a very short leash, so unless he dominates from the get-go (which would be a miracle), Sanders will likely find his way onto the field at some point in 2026. For the time being, though, Watson is the guy, and Cleveland’s starting offense will begin working on getting itself ready for its Week 1 clash against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Browns Announce Final Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders Decision