When Deshaun Watson was officially announced as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback on Aug. 24, the majority of fans struggled to make sense of the decision. The team has now drafted three quarterbacks over the past two years. Watson hasn’t played a real football game in 22 months, and he’s scheduled to become a free agent in March 2027.
But there may have been a hidden connection with head coach Todd Monken that helped them hit it off from the start.
During his press conference ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Watson compared his now-or-never situation to that of Monken, who's entering his first season as an NFL head coach at the age of 60.
“I can’t focus on the future,” Watson told reporters Wednesday. “I gotta focus on now, you know? If I try to look ahead and I get distracted and not focusing on what I need to do now, then who knows what the future might hold. So all I can do is control these moments and these opportunities that I have now. And I want to be, just like Monk — Todd Monken — said, he’s 60. He feels like this is his shot. So me being in my last year of my deal and being in Year 10, I feel like this is my opportunity to go out there and showcase that I can still play in this league. And I want to continue to play in this league. So this is my opportunity to do that.”
Deshaun Watson and Todd Monken may have bonded over a ‘last chance’ mentality
These situations aren’t apples to apples. Monken signed a five-year contract with the Browns, and head coach contracts in the NFL are fully guaranteed. The salary cap penalties currently tied to Watson’s deal will lead to him getting released next spring no matter how he plays in the 2026 season.
But it’s easy to envision a fly-on-the-wall scene this offseason where Watson sat down in Monken’s office and the two bonded over 2026 being a make-or-break season for their respective careers.
Monken’s contract will likely save him from being a one-and-done. He should get at least a couple of seasons and the opportunity to have input on the team’s quarterback decision on Day 1 of the 2027 draft.
But this could very well be Monken’s one and only chance to be an NFL head coach. Whenever it ends in Cleveland, at his age, another head coaching opportunity would be far from guaranteed.
Watson? This 2026 season is almost certainly his final opportunity to prove to the NFL world that he can play and lead a franchise.
If not for his unavoidable $46 million salary this season, it’s fair to wonder if he’d even be on a 53-man roster right now. He turns 31 in September and hasn’t played in a real NFL game in 22 months due to multiple surgeries to the same Achilles tendon.
This Browns season will double as Watson’s lifeline as he makes his official return to the field. If it goes poorly, the calls for Shedeur Sanders will be deafening, and that atmosphere at home games could turn increasingly ugly.
In a way, this is a turning-point season for Watson and his head coach, who seems to believe in the veteran QB more than anyone. For those still wondering how Watson taking snaps for the Browns again could even be possible, the hidden connection that Watson described might be the only logical answer.
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