At what point do the Cleveland Browns finally admit the Deshaun Watson experiment failed?
Apparently, not yet.
New head coach Todd Monken has officially named Watson the Browns’ Week 1 starting quarterback over Shedeur Sanders, saying Watson gives Cleveland its best chance to move the football and score points.
Seriously?
Watson has started only 19 games for Cleveland since the Browns traded for him in 2022, going 9-10 while dealing with suspensions, major injuries and consistently disappointing play. He also missed the entire 2025 season after re-injuring his Achilles.
And it’s not like this summer screamed, “This guy needs to start.”
Watson completed just 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards with an interception in Cleveland’s 31-7 preseason loss to Buffalo. He was booed by Browns fans and then created even more controversy afterward by criticizing the fan base and revisiting the reaction to his Achilles injury.
Yet Cleveland looked at all of that and decided:
Yep. Let’s do this again.
This is where the decision becomes frustrating.
Nobody is saying Sanders has already proven he’s a franchise quarterback. He threw seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a rookie and clearly has plenty to improve.
But at least there’s something to potentially build around.
With Watson, what exactly are the Browns still trying to discover?
Cleveland made one of the biggest gambles in NFL history when it traded for Watson and gave him a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. Four years later, they’re still trying to make that decision work.
At some point, continuing to chase a bad investment only makes it worse.
Maybe Watson shocks everyone and looks like the quarterback he once was in Houston. If that happens, Cleveland deserves credit.
But based on everything we’ve seen from his Browns tenure, what evidence suggests that’s coming?
The Browns had an opportunity to finally turn the page.
Instead, they’re running it back one more time.
Cleveland just can’t quit Deshaun Watson.
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