It has been a bizarre few days for the Cleveland Browns. After it seemed like Deshaun Watson had locked up the starting quarterback position, the second week of the preseason seemed to turn things firmly against him.
After a brutal performance on the field while he was booed by the home crowd, alongside an incendiary press conference, his chances of becoming the starter felt like they’d gone up in smoke. But the NFL world was in for a shock when head coach Todd Monken refused to change his mind.
Deshaun Watson Is Somehow Still QB1
Throughout the offseason, Watson and Sanders were going head-to-head to determine the new starter for the Browns. All the signs, though, were pointing to the three-time Pro Bowler getting the nod over the second-year star.
That was until the game against the Buffalo Bills. Coming in behind Sanders, Watson threw for just 36 yards on 12 pass attempts and also gave up an interception. All the while, the Cleveland faithful rained down boos on him.
The former Houston Texans star took exception to their treatment and launched into a tirade against them after the game. Given the lack of accountability and a direct war with the fans, many wrote off his chances of remaining on the roster, let alone being the starting QB.
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A shocking update from NFL insider Jordan Schultz left the NFL world perplexed on Monday morning by the Browns’ rationale behind the decision. He wrote, “BREAKING: The Browns are naming Deshaun Watson as their starting QB, per multiple sources. Shedeur Sanders will be the backup.”
PFN Deputy Editor Alex Kennedy broke down just how reckless the decision truly was. “It makes zero sense for the Browns to start Deshaun Watson.”
His first argument came from the two quarterback’s play on the field: “Shedeur Sanders looked just as good (if not better), and they need to see what they have in Sanders before next year’s draft.”
However, there was an elephant in the room with Watson as well. Kennedy added, “Not to mention Watson is literally feuding with the Browns’ fan base. What a dumpster fire.”
It makes zero sense for the Browns to start Deshaun Watson. Shedeur Sanders looked just as good (if not better), and they need to see what they have in Sanders before next year’s draft. Not to mention Watson is literally feuding with the Browns’ fan base. What a dumpster fire.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) August 24, 2026
Even the PFN’s Director of Media Partnerships, Jacob Infante, was stunned by the timing of the news. Fresh off that explosive conference, the optics were disastrously bad for the Browns, who now risked alienating their entire fan base.
“The timing on this after Deshaun Watson’s press conference and bad preseason game against a bunch of backups….woof,” Infante wrote. “I’m not the biggest Shedeur Sanders believer out there, but I feel like you should go with the young guy and see what you have with him.”
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Fantasy analyst Kyle Soppe, though, believed the decision might have been based on the strength of the overall roster. However, it still made no sense to him, given the way Watson had performed since coming to the Browns.
“This tells us that the Browns believe they have a roster that can compete. Which might be true,” Soppe wrote. “But there isn’t a ‘compete now’ QB on this roster. Narrow range of outcomes on the field, WIDE range off of it.”
This tells us that the Browns believe they have a roster that can compete
Which might be true
But there isn’t a “compete now” QB on this roster
Narrow range of outcomes on the field, WIDE range off of it https://t.co/K3JzhZr0s7
— Kyle Soppe (@KyleSoppePFN) August 24, 2026
Through it all, though, the simplest explanation could have been the money that the Browns have tied up in Watson. While trading for him, they gave him a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million extension.
As a result, Brandon Austin believed it might have played a factor in their decision-making process for the starting quarterback job. “The Browns will never live down that ridiculous bag they gave Deshaun Watson.”
PFN’s draft analyst, Ian Cummings, also shared his views and wrote, “As skeptic as I am about Shedeur Sanders, imo he’s the right choice. You get nothing w/ Deshaun Watson; his only case is the sunk cost fallacy. Sanders is likely not the guy long-term but he’s handled things well. Can keep as a backup in ‘27.”
Final take re: Browns QB decision:
As skeptic as I am about Shedeur Sanders, imo he’s the right choice.
You get nothing w/ Deshaun Watson; his only case is the sunk cost fallacy. Sanders is likely not the guy long-term but he’s handled things well. Can keep as a backup in ‘27.
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) August 23, 2026
Sanders is coming off a rookie season in which he posted a PFN QB Impact score of 63.0, which ranked second-worst in the league, only ahead of Cam Ward.
Fantasy analyst Jason Katz was among the few who weren’t surprised by the choice, pointing to the entire summer’s worth of evidence that supported Watson’s case. However, he also made it clear that this decision wasn’t a permanent one for the organization.
“Not a single person should be surprised at this decision,” Katz wrote on X. “Was quite obvious for months. Regardless, Watson hasn’t resembled anything close to an NFL-calibre quarterback since 2020. Shedeur will get in there by the end of October.”
Not a single person should be surprised at this decision. Was quite obvious for months. Regardless, Watson hasn’t resembled anything close to an NFL caliber quarterback since 2020. Shedeur will get in there by the end of October. https://t.co/r19CBmIE5A
— Katz (@jasonkatz13) August 24, 2026
It remains to be seen what the explanation from Monken is. The scrutiny from the media in Cleveland has been intense ever since Watson spoke against the fans. Now that he is keeping the starting role, at least for the time being, the situation could get uglier in a short period of time.
