With each passing day, it looks more and more likely like Deshaun Watson will somehow reclaim his spot as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback in 2026. This marriage looked like it was over about a hundred different times over the past few years, but ownership wants him to have one last crack at finally providing some return on this $230 million investment.
He is slated to battle Shedeur Sanders for the job, but it’s tough to envision a path where Sanders wins. He showed some flashes as a rookie last season, but turnovers were still an issue and we saw all the same flaws that negatively impacted his draft stock. Despite the flaws, many still want him to get another shot to start over Watson.
Garrett Bush of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show isn’t fully sold on the idea of Watson as the starter just yet, either. In a recent clip, he discussed his issue with the $230 million man.
“The issue with Deshaun Watson wasn’t that he didn’t look good in practice when he was here before. The problem with Deshaun Watson when he was actually playing was the simple fact that Deshaun Watson, when the bullets started flying, when the pass rush started getting to him, when his timing, when his rhythm, when his confidence, when his cadence, when the ball placement, when the accuracy, when the mobility, floundered under pressure,” said Bush.
This is all fair criticism, but it’s not unique to Watson. Most quarterbacks look great when the defense isn’t actively trying to crush them in practice, including Shedeur Sanders, but the argument isn’t so much defending Watson as it is defending the pieces around him.
On paper, this should be the best situation Watson has stepped into since joining the Browns. Todd Monken is a proven offensive-minded head coach and GM Andrew Berry dedicated significant resources this offseason to revamp the offensive line and bring in more weapons for his starting quarterback.
This projects to be a completely different offense that can hopefully have Watson looking like the franchise QB he was back in 2020. If he isn’t, it could be his last shot to prove he’s still got it.
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