Deshaun Watson hasn't played since Oct. 20, 2024, but the three-time Pro-Bowler is healthy and will compete against Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel for QB1 on the Cleveland Browns.
Watson tore his Achilles in the last game that he played which forced him to miss the rest of 2024, then re-tore it in January 2025 which forced him to miss all of last year.
He's only played in 19 games since the massive trade from Houston to Cleveland and is now 30-years-old, but Watson is looking to get back to what he was, and the Browns have a big decision to make.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said a year ago that trading for Watson was a "big swing-and-miss," and Cleveland subsequently drafted two quarterbacks in the 2025 draft.
They picked Gabriel in the third round and Sanders in the fifth round, hoping that one of them would work out.
Gabriel wasn't great in his six starts, which led to Sanders getting seven starts to close the season. Cleveland liked what they saw more out of Sanders, but still, his play wasn't convincing enough to secure the starting spot for 2026.
Entering minicamp and training camp, it looks like a true QB competition in camp will take place between Watson and Sanders.
Odds on Cleveland Browns Starting Quarterback in Week 1
Deshaun Watson | -200 |
Shedeur Sanders | +160 |
Dillon Gabriel | +5000 |
Taylen Green | +8000 |
The Case for Deshaun Watson
The case for Deshaun Watson to start Week 1 is simple: He's a veteran who has performed at a very high level earlier in his career. There's no denying that Watson had the talent of a top-five quarterback in and before 2020. If Cleveland can somehow manage to unlock even a little bit of that talent, he has the chance to be a good starter immediately.
Watson led the league with 4,823 yards and threw 33 touchdowns to seven interceptions in 2020.
"Any time that you have a player that at one time has exhibited the skill set at an elite level, I think you're always going to give them the benefit of the doubt," newly-appointed head coach Todd Monken told ESPN at the NFL combine.
According to the same ESPN article, a source close to Watson said that him sitting out last season was the best thing that could've happened to him. It rejuvenated his excitement and gave him time to reflect on how he can get the best out of this year.
The Browns have a solid roster on paper that has a chance to succeed if the QB play is up to par. They revamped their offensive line, including the selection of Spencer Fano at No. 9 overall, and have a talented defense that includes stars Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, and Carson Schwesinger.
Not to mention Quinshon Judkins who had a great rookie season, plus the draft picks of Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion that provide size and speed to the wide receiver room.
Cleveland might think that going with the veteran option at QB will maximize Garrett's prime and the rest of the roster.
The Case for Shedeur Sanders
Coming into the QB battle, Sanders doesn't have much of a case right now - it's all projection. He didn't prove much in his rookie year and must have a good camp to convince the Monken and the Browns brass that he's ready to start, which is certainly possible.
Sanders did show that he has an NFL-caliber arm and his talent does not match a fifth-round pick. He can make all the throws needed from a starting quarterback and his athleticism was better than people initially thought coming out of Colorado.
However, his lack of pocket awareness was on full display as he took 23 sacks in seven starts. Sure his O-line wasn't great, but he held the ball for far too long at times rather than throwing it away.
His decision making wasn't great either; he threw 10 interceptions, but again, the team didn't have much talent to help him out either.
Of course, there's another layer to this situation. Sanders certainly had first-round talent, but there's a reason that he fell to the fifth-round. A media circus comes with the Sanders family, and NFL teams that didn't want to deal with that been proven right so far.
It's no secret that he was underprepared for his pre-draft interviews, and it's fair to question his preparation and mindset coming into games. Recent comments from his brother Shilo and father Deion haven't helped either.
Shilo told a highly-respected female reporter to "make a sandwich" for hinting towards the fact that Watson has a chance to start, and Deion questioned why the Browns haven't reached out to him to ask about the best way to coach his son.
The team has one of the best defensive players of all-time on its roster, but the only chatter surrounding the Browns has to do with Shedeur and the quarterback situation. This is exactly what every team, including Cleveland, was afraid of on draft night.
Perhaps Cleveland hasn't reached out to Deion because they wanted to separate Shedeur from his family and mold him into what they want him to become.
Sanders has a chance to start the year, but he'll need to prove that he's ready in training camp.
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All odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
