The Cleveland Browns head into the 2026 season without a definitive starting quarterback, setting up an intense competition in training camp between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Watson’s performance before his injuries shows the level he can reach, but his injury issues over the past few seasons have led many to believe Sanders has the upper hand in the battle for the starting job.
Deshaun Watson Faces Strong Criticism Despite Encouraging Injury Recovery
Watson looked like one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks during the 2020 season with the Houston Texans, leading the league with 4,823 passing yards while throwing 33 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions. However, that version of Watson has not resurfaced in the last few years.
Since the Browns traded for him and handed him a massive contract, he has appeared in just 19 games because of a lengthy suspension and multiple injuries. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon in 2024 before re-injuring it in January 2025, spending the entire 2025 season working toward a full recovery.
Watson admitted last month that he is in a much better place mentally and physically than when he first arrived in Cleveland, saying that he was dealing with a lot at the time. He was recently seen working with wide receivers KC Concepcion, Luke Floriea, and others during offseason sessions in Berea.
However, Browns reporter Nick Pedone remains unconvinced that the quarterback can return to his previous level.
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“I hate to put it that way,” Pedone said. “I hate to put it that blunt, clear-cut, dry, because it makes it really hard on us to sell fans on hope for the next six to eight months that this Browns season can be anything.
“I just don’t believe that Deshaun Watson has anything there. And I really think that talking about all these videos and all this stuff is much ado about nothing, because the guy has completely lost it. He’s never going to find it again.”
Even when healthy, Watson has struggled to regain his Pro Bowl form, as he has completed 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions since getting traded to the Browns.
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The Browns have also turned to new head coach Todd Monken, and some hope his offensive system can help Watson rediscover the level he displayed in 2020. However, Pedone remains highly skeptical that such a turnaround is possible.
“There are countless examples throughout the history of professional sports, all the way back to the gladiators, that when somebody gets injured the way that he had been injured for three seasons with the two Achilles, with the broken shoulder, with the suspension, and all the time off that came from that, you don’t come back from that,” Pedone added.
“He’s not gonna come back from that. If they put him on the field, God, I give you my best wishes, is really all I have for the Cleveland Browns, man, it is.”
Monken isn’t expected to declare his QB1 soon, and the battle will be more intense in the training camp.
As for Sanders’ potential, he showed flashes of potential last season, but his efficiency was modest. He started seven games for Cleveland, completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, earning a 63.0 impact score on PFN’s QB Impact Metric, ranking second-worst in the league.
