There is no clear winner yet in the competition for the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback position.
Second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders took over as the starter for the final seven games of his rookie campaign, and despite some inconsistency, he showed enough promise to convince many fans he should open the 2026 season as QB1. However, NFL insider Albert Breer believes Cleveland may still have a compelling reason to give veteran Deshaun Watson the first opportunity under center.
Albert Breer Explains Why Browns May Owe Deshaun Watson One Final Chance
While many around the league view Sanders as the right option for Cleveland, Breer believes the Browns have a strong reason to take one last look at Watson before officially moving on.
Speaking on Sports Illustrated’s “The Breer Report”, the veteran NFL insider pointed to the enormous investment Cleveland made when it acquired Watson from the Houston Texans during the 2022 offseason.
“I personally think that if it’s even, you give Deshaun Watson a shot at the very beginning,” Breer said.
Breer acknowledged it would be easy for the Browns to treat Watson as a sunk cost after investing $230 million in a five-year guaranteed contract and surrendering three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and two fourth-round selections for the quarterback.
However, he argued that the bigger risk could be letting Watson leave without ever being completely certain that nothing remains of the player who once was among the NFL’s elite quarterbacks.
“You’ve already invested $230 million in him,” Breer said. “You’ve invested three first-round picks in him. You’ve gotten almost nothing out of him over the course of his first four years there.”
“What would be worse than sinking all that into him and getting nothing out of him would be if you don’t give him a chance this year and then he goes and balls out somewhere in 2027.”
Breer added that if he were in the Browns’ front office, he would want one final evaluation of the quarterback Cleveland originally believed it was acquiring.
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“So if I’m ownership, if I’m Andrew Berry, I want to make absolutely sure that that Deshaun Watson that I acquired, the guy who was a stud in Houston from 2017 to 2020 on the field, I want to get one last look and make sure that there’s nothing that I can harvest there,” Breer added. “So if he does leave after the 2026 season, I feel a little better that I gave this every shot to see what I might have.”
Breer’s comments come at an interesting time when Sanders appears to have a legitimate chance to open next season as Cleveland’s starter.
Head coach Todd Monken recently confirmed he would not name a starter during minicamp after neither quarterback managed to separate himself during offseason workouts. Sanders and Watson have continued to split first-team reps, with Sanders running the No. 1 offense during one practice before Watson rotated in with the starters the following day.
“They’ve both played well enough to have the right to compete to start,” Monken told reporters.
Watson, meanwhile, is attempting to revive a Cleveland tenure that has largely failed to meet expectations. Across seven starts in 2024, he completed 63.4% of his passes for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions while posting a 1-6 record.
According to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, Watson posted an impact score of 51.1 in 2024, ranking 39th in the league, both the worst marks of his career.
Injuries have also limited the former Pro Bowler to just 19 appearances since arriving in Cleveland. Whether Watson ultimately wins the job remains to be seen. For now, Monken has made it clear the QB1 competition will continue into training camp.
