The Cleveland Browns named Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback for Week 1 over second-year standout Shedeur Sanders, head coach Todd Monken announced.
Watson and Sanders had been battling for the starting role throughout the duration of training camp. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback started Cleveland’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears, while Sanders got the starting nod in its second game against the Buffalo Bills.
“Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points. That’s really what it’s about,” Monken said, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Monken doesn’t expect the quarterback situation to be a week-to-week evaluation, but he added that Watson must keep proving himself like any other player. If we are being honest with ourselves as well, there is a really good chance that store Sanders will be playing at some point this season, as the Browns decide what to do with the quarterback position going forward. 
One of the main reasons there was so much backlash to this move was what Watson came out and said.
“I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance,” Watson said postgame. “It’s a little bit (more) personal than that, so I think that’s a disrespectful thing.”
On Sunday, Monken said that Watson’s comments wouldn’t factor into his decision regarding the starting job. However, Watson, making these comments and then being named starter did not do him any favors in the Cleveland Browns fans eyes. 
This is what Monken had to say on the situation: “He emptied his heart a little bit, and I don’t think that says who he is,” Monken said, according to ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi. “I see the competitor in him. I see the every-day work he puts in, and he wants to be back. He wants to get back to where he was as best he can, and that’s hard.”
Watson did appear to have a change of heart last Monday, as he did apologize to Browns fans for his postgame comments.
“My emotions got the best of me. My comments weren’t intending to go at any of the fans around the city because there’s been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me,” Watson told reporters, including Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. “And I know the frustration. This organization put a lot of investment into getting me back in ’22. And things haven’t been going the right direction that we thought it was.”
Watson has been a super polarizing figure in the football sphere going back to his finals days with the Houston Texans and the then move to Cleveland. Upon acquiring him in March 2022, Cleveland signed Watson to a five-year, $230-million contract after more than two dozen women accused him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. The reason this was so big of an issue is that the $230 million fully guaranteed was the only reason Cleveland got Deshaun Watson. And of course, it came during a time of him being under heavy ridicule for his actions which did not help at all. 
A pair of Texas grand juries declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson, but he did end up serving an 11-game suspension before playing his first game with the Browns. He also paid a $5-million fine and completed a treatment program.
Watson didn’t play in 2025 after undergoing two surgeries to repair a torn right Achilles tendon. He has been limited to just 19 games in four seasons with Cleveland. In a wild statistic, so far Deshaun Watson has averaged around 12 million dollars per game played with the Browns since his signing.
The Browns will open their regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13.
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