Cleveland names Deshaun Watson QB1, but the next answer might still be coming

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  Daniel OyefusiAug 24, 2026, 10:50 AM ET

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  Daniel Oyefusi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. Prior to ESPN, he covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald, as well as the Baltimore Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

The Cleveland Browns are taking another chance on Deshaun Watson.

Sixteen months after Browns owner Jimmy Haslam called his team's March 2022 trade for Watson -- which included three first-round picks and a fully guaranteed $230 million contract -- a "big swing-and-miss," first-year coach Todd Monken named him Cleveland's Week 1 starting quarterback for the 2026 NFL season.

Watson will be named QB1 on Monday, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, concluding a competition with second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders that began in April and stretched into the final weeks of training camp.

Over the past year-plus, the Browns have been in what general manager Andrew Berry called a "strategic pivot," parting ways with aging veterans and players with big contracts, and using their replenished draft stock to infuse the roster with young talent.

However, Cleveland's quest to answer the franchise's quarterback quandary brings the team back to Watson, with not only Sanders but a highly touted 2027 draft class of QB prospects lurking in the background.

Does Watson, who has one year remaining on his contract, have a future with the Browns? As he made his return this spring and summer from a right Achilles tendon tear that required two surgeries and sidelined him for the entire 2025 season, the Browns' top decision-makers talked around the topic of Watson's place with the team long term.

Cap considerations help explain why Watson, 30, is still on Cleveland's roster in 2026. After multiple contract restructures, releasing him now would result in an NFL-record $127 million dead salary cap charge. Wait until next offseason, and the Browns can cut Watson with a post-June 1 designation that splits a more palatable $86 million dead cap charge between the 2027 and 2028 seasons amid an ever-rising salary cap.

Monken, one day before announcing his decision, said his starting QB choice would not be made with the future in mind but solely focused on giving his team the best opportunity in Week 1, when the Browns face the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road (Sept. 13, 1 p.m. ET, CBS). He also reiterated that, although he had conversations with Berry and team ownership, the decision at quarterback was his own.

"I'll just make reference to any decision that's made in terms of football; we're all involved in that," Monken said Saturday following Cleveland's Week 2 preseason loss to Buffalo. "Whether it's the draft, or whether it's the roster, whether it's game day, who's up and who plays. But ultimately, the quarterback decision will be mine."

During Watson's stop-and-start tenure with the Browns, he has battled rust and injuries as he fights to recapture his former Pro Bowl form. In the 19 games he has played since joining Cleveland, his 33.1 Total QBR would rank last among active QBs if he had enough starts to qualify.

His latest bout -- one he called a "mental battle" -- occurred Saturday in his own stadium, where he was met with boos in his first home game since tearing his Achilles in October 2024; then, the injury was met with cheers.

Watson bemoaned the reaction Saturday, calling it "disrespectful." He also said that if he was named the starter, he might play what amounts to "17 away games," though Monken later said the QB's comments came from an emotional player who was frustrated with a lackluster second-half performance.

For a franchise that has started 42 different quarterbacks since returning to Cleveland in 1999, the question for the Browns has rarely centered on who is under center but rather who is up next. In this case, it could be Sanders, the 2025 fifth-round pick who started the final seven games of his rookie season and went 3-4 in his starts. However, his 18.9 QBR would have ranked last among qualifying quarterbacks.

Though Sanders will begin his second season on the bench, Monken has consistently praised his growth in both pre-snap operation and post-snap execution. If Watson struggles, Monken could turn to a player he also touted as a viable starter when discussing his quarterback situation during OTAs in the spring.

While the Browns' brass hasn't publicly acknowledged the notion of a rebuild, Cleveland will field one of the youngest rosters in the NFL in 2026. The team's trade of two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett lowered external expectations for the upcoming season even further, but it was executed with the franchise's short- and long-term future in mind.

The Browns' win total for 2026 is set at 5.5; however, the team has plenty of young talent to build around in the coming years. Haslam said his sights are on contending in 2027, when the team's young core, which includes linebacker Carson Schwesinger, running back Quinshon Judkins, tight end Harold Fannin Jr., and rookie receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, begins to enter its prime.

That could make Cleveland, which owns a pair of first-round picks in what is already becoming a hyped 2027 draft quarterback class, a prime destination for a passer to bring it all together.

"Andrew and his team will be keeping a close eye on the quarterbacks," Haslam said at the league meetings in March. "Now if you'll remember, we thought this time last year, this was going to be a great quarterback class. Maybe it will be, but if it doesn't shapen up ... I think you just have to see how things [pan] out."

Watson, starting Week 1, will get another chance to salvage his albatross contract. If he falters, Sanders will be next. And if Sanders doesn't show enough promise, the 2027 quarterback draft class will come into focus and QB No. 43 might be up.