The Cleveland Browns got their first taste of preseason action when they went up against the Chicago Bears. New head coach Todd Monken wanted to make a full assessment of the talent on his roster. As a result, he gave his starters ample reps, with Deshaun Watson playing the entire first half.
For most folks, he had an underwhelming showing, but his new coach believed there were many positive takeaways from his performance as well.
Deshaun Watson Has Impressed Todd Monken
Four seasons into his tenure with the Browns, the returns with Watson haven’t been spectacular. Playing in just 19 total games, he has thrown for fewer than 3,500 yards while recording 19 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
As a result, expectations weren’t high for his return from a torn Achilles this season. But Monken wanted to have a true quarterback battle to decide the starting job, and it looks like Watson is jumping ahead, at least for the time being.
In their first preseason game, too, he was given the starting nod for the first half. Completing 11 of his 15 passing attempts for 126 yards, he was strip-sacked once, but also added four yards on the ground in three carries.
For Monken, the process of Watson’s return was already special, even if he understood some of the criticism against him.
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“It was so cool to watch him play,” Monken said. “I mean, I get all of the frustration from fans, himself. But for him to come back and work like he did is an unbelievable credit to him.”
On the game itself, he added, “He was having fun today. That is so cool, and I thought he really functioned at a high level. Certainly, we don’t wanna be taking timeouts, we sure as heck can’t take delay of games. But it was fun watching him play, and watching us put the next step forward and see where we’re at.”
Todd Monken on Deshaun Watson: “I thought he really functioned at a high level.” pic.twitter.com/cHqvF6cR1b
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 15, 2026
The rest of the options under center for Cleveland fared much worse than Watson. Shedeur Sanders, who seemed like the obvious choice to handle the starting role this season, completed just six of his 11 passes for 79 yards but gave up an interception.
From the same draft class, Dillon Gabriel also got some burn. But he, too, threw an interception while completing five of his eight passing attempts for a measly 23 passing yards. As a result, the team lost 34-10, albeit in the preseason.
But from the way Monken is gushing about Watson, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is indeed named QB1 for the Browns, at least to start the 2026 season.
