The Cleveland Browns have named Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback for Week 1, opting for the veteran over rookie Shedeur Sanders. The decision was announced Monday morning after an offseason-long competition where both quarterbacks split first-team reps. First-year coach Todd Monken had expressed a desire to name a starter prior to the opening of training camp.
The Browns will begin their regular season on September 13 in Jacksonville against the Jaguars, followed by a Week 2 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and will host the Carolina Panthers on September 27 for their home opener.
This decision comes after a period of quarterback instability for the Browns. The team acquired Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Houston Texans, in a 2022 trade. However, his tenure with Cleveland has been limited to 19 games due to a suspension and injuries. In his absence, the team utilized several other quarterbacks. The entire 2025 season was lost to Watson due to two Achilles tears, during which 40-year-old Joe Flacco started four games before being traded, and rookie Dillon Gabriel took over. When Gabriel suffered an injury, Sanders finished the final seven games of the 2025 season.
Gabriel, while still on the Browns' roster, was not a consideration for the starting role this year. Sanders concluded his rookie campaign with 1,400 passing yards, completing 56.6 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. This performance followed a draft process where Sanders, once projected as a potential top-10 pick, fell to the fifth round.
Preseason statistics offered little separation between Watson and Sanders. In two preseason games each, where both played one half in one game and the other half in a second game, their statistical outputs were nearly identical. Sanders completed one fewer pass on five fewer attempts, with nearly the same yardage. Watson threw one interception to Sanders' two and did not record a passing touchdown, while Sanders had one.
Watson has faced fan criticism during his time with the Browns. During his second preseason game on Saturday, he was booed as he took the field in Cleveland. Afterward, Watson described the reaction as "disrespectful" and suggested it was "a little bit more personal than that."
Monken stated Sunday that Watson's comments did not influence the quarterback decision, emphasizing that it was based on assessing the "full body of work" from both players. Watson's career with the Browns has been marked by controversy since his 2022 arrival. He sat out the 2021 season amid legal proceedings concerning sexual misconduct allegations. Subsequently, he missed the first 11 games of his Browns tenure due to an NFL investigation into his conduct, though he was not criminally charged. On the field, Watson has struggled to meet expectations relative to his $230 million fully guaranteed contract, having played 19 games and thrown for 19 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, a significant drop from his 33 touchdowns in 16 games in 2020 with the Texans.
A recent poll of NFL executives and coaches by The Athletic ranked Watson 31st out of 35 quarterbacks, with Sanders ranked 35th, indicating potential challenges for the Browns' offense regardless of the starter.