On the surface, the continued buzz around Deshaun Watson potentially resuming as the Cleveland Browns starter in 2026 isn’t all that surprising. Money talks in the NFL. Following the guaranteed cash in player contracts will almost always lead fans to answers — and the Browns have $46 million reasons to consider playing Watson this season.
In the case of Shedeur Sanders, he appears to be caught in the middle of a quarterback competition that has little to do with the actual performance on the field.
The latest report on the Browns’ offseason program by Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot is worthy of nothing but eye rolls. She literally pounded the table for the Browns to name Watson the starter “asap” to “let the 1st team offense start to cook.”
With my breaking news here that Deshaun Watson has taken the lead over Shedeur Sanders in the #Browns QB competition and has the inside track to win it, I think they should declare him QB1 asap and let the 1st team offense start to cook. There's no time to waste: https://t.co/HDkyNnugo7
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 29, 2026
From a pure football perspective, the notion that any quarterback on the roster gained “an edge” during a voluntary veteran minicamp in late April is ridiculous. Watson was once a world-class athlete. It’s not “breaking news” if he looked good throwing the football in shorts with no pass rush. The Browns didn’t even have the top three receivers on their projected depth chart — Jerry Jeudy, KC Concepcion, and Denzel Boston — on the field for those workouts.
Mike Wilbon might have put it best during Thursday morning’s episode of Get Up on ESPN. The Browns’ top decision-makers have a lot to consider when it comes to Watson and their looming decision at quarterback. Unfortunately, the majority of those considerations revolve around factors well beyond Sanders’ control.
“I'd be surprised if he’s not the starter,” Wilbon said of Watson. “Look, that franchise has changed over and changed over and changed over. There’s still a — ‘Let us cover ourselves with this decision to pay him this much money.’ The question is: How palatable will this be in that community? And that’s where you cannot entirely separate the football from the real-life decision dilemma here.”
The Browns can’t afford to let the Deshaun Watson situation derail their momentum
To the credit of owner Jimmy Haslam and GM Andrew Berry, the Browns have managed to turn another head coach firing into some semblance of positive momentum. The team made some cutthroat decisions in free agency to get younger and more financially flexible in future years, cutting ties with a pair of established vets like David Njoku and Wyatt Teller. Their rapid rebuild on offense, starting with the offensive line, has drawn national praise since the conclusion of last week’s NFL Draft.
Nothing would torch that momentum like defaulting back to Watson, who, regardless of what’s been said this offseason, has no future in Cleveland beyond this 2026 season. If his contract allowed it, the Browns would have released Watson a long time ago.
Wilbon framed his commentary on Get Up with a question: “What’s left?” The harsh reality here is that Watson is due a fully-guaranteed base salary of $46 million in 2026, per Spotrac. He’ll earn every penny whether he’s the starter, a backup, or once again spends the entire season on injured reserve. Due to the nature of his original fully-guaranteed, $230 million contract (and multiple restructures since for cap relief), the Browns are financially stuck with Watson until March of 2027, when he’s earmarked to be a post-June 1 release.
There can’t be a true quarterback competition and evaluation until July, when the Browns have their full training camp roster in the building, put the pads on, and start simulating actual football. But if head coach Todd Monken is truly married to the idea of naming a starter ahead of camp? We might already have our answer.
Sanders still has a golden opportunity in front of him to blow the new coaching staff away this summer. No matter what’s being reported in late April, no one can take that opportunity from him. If Sanders is the best player in the room, it will be obvious to everyone in Berea, including the fans.
But if he fails to separate? Browns brass will have all the justification it needs to save face and make the veteran and former Pro Bowler making a top-10 salary this season the starter.
Take out the money and Sanders is obviously the best choice for the franchise this year. He’s a young, ascending draft pick well worth developing as a future roster asset.
But it sure feels like he won’t just have to win this looming training camp competition with Watson — he’ll have to leave no doubt. The odds of that happening appear to be tilted firmly against him.
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