The Cleveland Browns will start Deshaun Watson in Week 1 of the 2026 season, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, ending a quarterback competition that began in April and stretched into the final weeks of training camp.
The decision returns the franchise to a player acquired in a high-profile 2022 trade that cost three first-round picks and included a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. Owner Jimmy Haslam at the time called the deal a “big swing-and-miss,” and general manager Andrew Berry has described the organization’s recent moves as a “strategic pivot,” parting with aging veterans and using replenished draft stock to add young talent.
Watson made his return this spring and summer after a right Achilles tendon tear that required two surgeries and sidelined him for the entire 2025 season. He has one year remaining on his contract; cap considerations were cited in the reporting as a reason he remains on the roster. Releasing Watson now would trigger a reported NFL-record $127 million dead cap charge, while a post-June 1 cut next offseason would split a reported $86 million dead-cap hit between the 2027 and 2028 seasons amid a rising salary cap.
Coach Todd Monken said the starting-quarterback decision was made with Week 1 in mind and not with the future, adding he made the call himself after conversations with Berry and team ownership. Cleveland opens on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS, Monken said the choice was intended to give the team the best opportunity in that game.
Watson’s performance with the Browns has been uneven; in 19 games since joining Cleveland his 33.1 Total QBR would rank last among active quarterbacks if he had enough starts to qualify, according to ESPN. He was booed in his first home game since the Achilles tear and called the reaction “disrespectful,” saying he might feel like he was playing “17 away games.” Monken described those comments as the words of an emotional player frustrated with a second-half performance.
Second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the Browns’ 2025 fifth-round pick, started the final seven games of his rookie season and went 3-4. His 18.9 QBR would have ranked last among qualifying quarterbacks, and Monken has praised Sanders’ growth in both pre-snap operation and post-snap execution.
