The Cleveland Browns will enter the 2026 season with some reasonable goals. They want to see the overall talent level lifted and pointed toward the future, a task they undertook in free agency and the NFL draft, rebuilding the offensive line and the wide receiver room while trading away Myles Garrett for 25-year-old star Jared Verse and three draft picks. They want coach Todd Monken’s football intelligence and enthusiasm to permeate the roster. And they want to see if there is an NFL starting quarterback among the group of Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, with rookie Taylen Green developing behind them.
That last bit will be the trickiest, as the Browns’ issues with finding quarterbacks for the last two or three or 40 years have been well documented. It hurts, too, that neither Watson nor Sanders showed themselves to be even an average NFL talent over the course of the summer.
Browns Start Deshaun Watson With Shedeur Sanders Looming
But the Browns will start with Watson under center in Week 1 in Jacksonville, an unpopular but unsurprising decision–and also a potentially temporary one. Watson will be given the first crack at the job, but as a guy coming off two Achilles tendon surgeries, who was 1-6 as a starter with a quarterback rating of 79.0 in his last starting stint in 2024, he might not last long.
The Browns are hoping to iron out some issues with Sanders in the early weeks of the season and, if they do–and if Watson struggles–then expect Sanders to be in the QB1 job before long. Some have speculated that Watson will start the two Florida road games (Jaguars and Buccaneers) to open the season, but Sanders will take over in front of the anti-Watson home crowd in Week 3. Some suggest Watson will get a month before getting the hook.
Either way, most assume it will be Sanders’ job at some point in 2026.
Browns Won’t Make Cut Even When Shedeur Sanders Is QB1
For NFL insider Tom Pelissero, now of The Ringer and his personal Substack, the transition from Watson to Sanders is likely to come with a call for the Browns to cut Watson outright. Certainly, if Watson loses the job, it would make sense for Cleveland to wash its hands of him, and let Green be the QB2.
But it’s not that simple. Writes Pelissero: “No matter how Deshaun Watson’s latest shot to show he can play well and stay healthy goes, it’s a good bet Cleveland will keep him on the roster all season. The Browns believe Watson’s experience is valuable even if/when Shedeur Sanders replaces him as the starter, and Watson’s contract (like many of the Browns’ bigger deals) is structured to end in a post–June 1 designated cut for cap purposes—something that can happen only if he’s still on the roster in March.”
Deshaun Watson Sticking for $128 Million Reason
Now, it’s fine for Pelissero to point out Watson’s value as a mentor, but that matters far less than the fact that the structure of his contract makes it incredibly dumb for the Browns to cut him now. Cleveland has $128 million in dead cap money for Watson it needs to spread out, and if the Browns cut Watson during this year, that gives them two periods (2026 and 2027) in which to spread out Watson’s money. If they hold onto him and designate him as a post-June 1 cut next March, they get three periods to spread that money out.
The two-period hit (cutting Watson now) would come as $41 million now and $87 million next season.
The three-period hit (cutting Watson next year) would come as $41 million in 2026, $35 million in 2027 and $52 million in 2028.
Because the NFL cap increases very quickly, the second option is much preferred. Forget “experience”–that’s the reason the Browns won’t cut Watson, no matter what.
Browns to Keep Deshaun Watson Even if Shedeur Sanders Promoted to QB1: Insider