Deshaun Watson can still win the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback job. That does not mean he will finish the season with it.
Watson and Shedeur Sanders remain locked in a quarterback competition that will stretch into training camp. But even if Watson starts Week 1, the pressure will not go away. Sanders will remain in the picture if Watson struggles or if his familiar injury issues resurface.
Browns reporters Mary Kay Cabot and Dan Labbe were asked who they believe will be Cleveland’s starting quarterback when December arrives. Both picked Sanders.
“I think I’m going to say Shedeur Sanders. I think I’m going to go with Shedeur because let’s say Deshaun starts the season, depending on how things go. If he plays well, that’s great and he’ll keep going as long as he can,” Cabot said on the Orange and Brown podcast. “We don’t know if he’s going to stay healthy. If he’s not, I think they’re going to get to their second quarterback at some point. If it’s Shedeur, I think they would just stick with him for the rest of the season if there were an injury or something like that. So if Shedeur steps in in Week 8, I think they’re going to kind of just let him play out the string like he did last year.”
Labbe also picked Sanders, but for a slightly different reason. If Sanders gets the job at some point, Labbe does not expect the Browns to pull him.
“Even if the season isn’t going great, I still think he’s going to have a pretty long leash,” Labbe said. “I just don’t know if they’d have a real quick, real short leash on him necessarily if we’ve gotten to this point and he was the Week 1 starter.”
Deshaun Watson Running Out of Time With Browns
Watson will turn 31 this season and is entering the final year of his fully guaranteed $230 million contract. The Browns traded three first-round picks to acquire him from the Houston Texans in 2022, expecting him to end their long search for a franchise quarterback. Instead, the deal has been the defining mistake of Cleveland’s current era.
Watson has appeared in just 19 games for the Browns. He has thrown 19 touchdown passes and gone 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter. Injuries have been a constant issue, including shoulder surgery and two Achilles surgeries, which forced Watson to miss all of last season. Even when he has been on the field, Watson has not consistently looked like the Pro Bowl quarterback he was in Houston.
Watson has to show he can still play at a high level and that his body can hold up for a full year to extend his career beyond this season. He’s tried to keep his focus narrow and isn’t looking beyond the coming season.
“I’m trying to play a full season. I’m just trying to be healthy so I can play all 17-plus games,” Watson said when asked about what his future holds. “So, I don’t know what’s going to happen at that time.”
Browns Still Have No Answer at Quarterback
The Browns left minicamp without naming a starting quarterback, which was not the original goal. Todd Monken would have liked to leave the offseason workouts with a clearer answer. That would have allowed the Browns to give one quarterback the majority of the first-team reps when training camp opened. Instead, Watson and Sanders did enough to keep the competition alive.
“I think you would love to have the starter named, I just can’t do it,” Monken said. “I’m not there yet.”
Watson has the experience, a stronger resume, and a chance to rewrite the narrative around the Browns’ investment in him. Sanders has youth, fan support and the upside that comes with being a fifth-round pick on a rookie contract. Putting the pads on in training camp and preseason games should give Monken and Co. a clearer idea on their quarterback decision.
Either way, the Browns’ quarterback debate will not be settled when Monken eventually names a starter. It will simply enter its next phase.
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