The Cleveland Browns know what they’re doing whenever they announce their starting quarterback ahead of a regular-season opener. The criticism, however, can arise when people question whether the decision was based on the quarterback’s performance or something else. Head coach Todd Monken’s decision to name Deshaun Watson his QB1 ahead of the Week 1 matchup fits right into that category.
Just a year ago, Jimmy Haslam called Watson a “big swing and miss.” A couple of days ago, Browns fans booed their own quarterback, while Watson also struggled in the same game against the Buffalo Bills. Yet, that wasn’t enough for Monken to name Shedeur Sanders QB1. As the decision came down, it led Tony Rizzo to question what Sanders has to do to win the job.
“What did Shedeur not do? Or what did he do to not win this job? What does he need to do to win the job?” Rizzo ranted. “What is Watson better at than Shedeur Sanders? To the naked eye, I don’t know. I don’t know what he did. I don’t know what he didn’t do. All I know is he couldn’t beat out a 30-year-old guy coming off five injuries and two years off.”
Watson had started the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 126 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. Against the Bills, however, he came in the second half and went 5-of-12 for 35 yards and one interception over four second-half drives.
Cleveland named Watson as the starter after many wondered whether the 30-year-old signal-caller would secure a spot on the roster. That came after Watson called out the fans for booing him and called it “disrespectful” and “personal.” But at some point, it won’t be wrong to say that the Browns probably knew Deshaun Watson was going to start in Week 1.
For a broader context, Cleveland signed Watson on a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal. So far, Watson has just started 19 games, while suffering major shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries. Many around the league believe that the team’s decision to start with Watson is because of his contract.
“It’s about $230 million,” ESPN’s Marcus Spears said. “The locker room’s not important. Ownership unwilling to admit that they made a tremendous mistake bringing Deshaun Watson in. It hasn’t work out since he’s arrived there. Unfortunately he’s suffered injuries that have derailed him. I think he missed almost 50 games, 40-something-plus games since he’s shown up there. But this is when we have conversations about the business of football. It’s simple for me. Look, Shedeur Sanders should be the starter.”
That’s what Tony Rizzo believes as well: Shedeur Sanders should be the starter. But in reality, the second-year signal-caller will have to wait just like he did in his rookie season. Against the Bears, Sanders completed 6-of-11 passes for 79 yards and one interception before getting the starting nod against the Bills.
In the second preseason matchup, Sanders went 9-of-11 for 74 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. For now, however, he’s all set to back up Watson ahead of the Browns regular season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road. As for Watson, he will not return home until Week 3, considering the Browns will play their Week 2 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road as well.
The quarterback, after calling out the fans, has since apologized for his comments during his recent press conference.
“I thought I was going to get a little different response, but I think my emotions got the best out of me,” Watson said. “My comments wasn’t intending to go at any of the fans around in the city, because there’s been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me. And I know the frustration…I understand the frustration. I understand everything that kind of goes into that. And moving forward, I just want to focus on football, making sure that I’m putting the best product out there, having the best ability, because I thrive off the energy.”
Against the Bills, Watson played his first game in front of the home crowd since suffering a torn Achilles tendon during the 2024 season. He will return in front of the same crowd against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. Whether the outcome will change, however, remains to be seen.
