The Cleveland Browns finally picked their starting quarterback before the new season. However, the decision did not make some NFL executives feel any better about where the franchise is headed.
The Browns named Deshaun Watson their Week 1 starter over Shedeur Sanders after an offseason-long competition, and one executive surveyed by The Athletic cited Cleveland’s choice as evidence that the organization is still trapped by the same problem that has defined it for years.
NFL Executive Slams Browns’ Deshaun Watson QB1 Decision
“They doubled down on toxic,” an anonymous NFL executive told The Athletic. “I don’t know how anybody can think they are headed in the right direction.”
It is a brutal assessment of a decision that first-year head coach Todd Monken framed as strictly about football. Cleveland named Watson the September 13 starter at the Jacksonville Jaguars after Monken evaluated the entire offseason, training camp, joint practices, and preseason.
Monken said Watson “gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points,” and he added that the decision was not intended to become a week-to-week referendum.
The numbers in August did not produce an obvious runaway winner. Watson completed 16 of 27 passes during the preseason for 162 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Sanders went 15 of 22 for 153 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
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Sanders also started seven games as a rookie in 2025, throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He finished with a 63.0 PFN QB Impact grade, second-worst among qualifying quarterbacks. Watson’s most recent PFN season grade came in 2024, when he finished last in the same metric at 59.9.
Cleveland Is Still Trying To Escape the Costly Watson Trade
The executive’s criticism carries extra weight because Cleveland itself has already acknowledged how badly the original gamble went. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam called the deal a “big swing-and-miss” after the franchise surrendered three first-round picks and handed Watson a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract.
Watson has started only 19 games for Cleveland since the trade. He missed the entire 2025 season after a torn Achilles and a second surgery during his recovery, and he enters 2026 with a 9-10 record as the Browns’ starter.
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His return has not repaired the relationship with the fan base, either. Watson was loudly booed during Cleveland’s August 22 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills. After initially calling the home crowd’s reaction “personal” and “disrespectful,” Watson apologized after being named the starter.
“I thought I was going to get a little different response, but I think my emotions got the best of me and my comments wasn’t intending to go at any of the fans around in the city because there’s been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me,” he had said.
When asked why Cleveland still chose him over Sanders, Browns HC Monken said the call was based on who gave the team the best chance to score, while Sanders remains No. 2 on the depth chart and rookie Taylen Green is third.
The Browns open at Jacksonville, where Cleveland hasn’t lost since 2014. Meanwhile, Watson himself has a 7-1 all-time record against the Jaguars, giving him an excellent opportunity to make the quarterback decision look more defensible.
For the anonymous executive, though, naming Watson QB1 was not a fresh start. It was another sign that Cleveland has yet to escape the mistake it has spent years trying to outlive.
