Deshaun Watson has been plunged into one of the most intriguing quarterback battles in the league against Shedeur Sanders. Watson missed the entirety of last season after undergoing surgery to repair his re-ruptured Achilles, following an initial tear that had ended his 2024 season.
Despite that, he is reportedly leading the race to be the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback, at least in Week 1.
Chad Johnson Claims Deshaun Watson Will Have a Short Leash As Browns’ QB1
During Sunday’s segment of the “Nightcap” podcast, NFL legend Chad Johnson backed Watson to be named the Browns’ starting quarterback by head coach Todd Monken, but also revealed that the veteran is not guaranteed to start for long.
“Deshaun Watson is the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns,” Johnson said. “It is his job to lose. He has six weeks, I guarantee you. Listen to me now, he has six weeks to make sure that team is playing above or better than whatever the expectations may be for that team and that quarterback.”
“If he’s not, Shedeur Sanders will fall in line as the backup and be the starter for the remainder of the season,” Johnson said. “If you’re not playing well, I thought it would be the six-week mark because you don’t want to lose too much of the season when you still have the chance to compete. At least play for something.”
Watson is entering the last year of his fully guaranteed, mammoth $230 million contract signed when he was traded from the Houston Texans in 2022.
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The Browns have had one of the highest turnover rates among their quarterbacks in the league after Joe Flacco started last season as the undisputed QB1.
After Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, Dillon Gabriel took over the starting job for a stretch before sustaining a concussion in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Sanders then took over the starting job for the rest of the season and has seemingly usurped Gabriel as one of the main competitors for the QB1 job next season.
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During an appearance on last week’s segment of the “NFL Live” show, ESPN analyst Jeremy Fowler revealed that Sanders had closed the gap on Watson during the OTAs and minicamp.
“This is a true heated battle, and this one’s only gonna heat up in training camp,” Fowler said. “Deshaun Watson went into the spring as the clear favorite, and then Shedeur Sanders has bridged the gap at least somewhat.”
“I still believe Deshaun Watson is in a good position,” Fowler added. “I’m told he was moving like a major athlete again, coming off those Achilles tears. He’s moving well, he’s fluid, looks like the athlete of old to the most extent.”
In eight games last season, seven of which he started, Sanders led the Browns to a 3-4 record, tallying 1,400 passing yards on 56.6% completion, for 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while adding 169 rushing yards and one score to earn a PFSN QB Impact score of 56.7, which ranked third-worst in the league.
