Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam recently told reporters that former Clemson star Deshaun Watson has a “fresh start” with new Cleveland head coach Todd Monken and that Watson has a “great chance” to be the Browns’ starting quarterback this season.
“Deshaun has a great chance, fresh start, offensive-minded coach, who has in his past been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make them successful,” Haslam said, via ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi. “So, Deshaun has a great chance to do that now. We talked to him the other day, he said he weighs the [least] he has in several years. He’s in great shape, he’ll be [in Cleveland] on April 7 when we start [the offseason workout program]. Let’s see what Deshaun can do. We’re all excited.”
Watson has not played in an NFL game since he suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear during Cleveland’s Week 7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 20, 2024. Less than three months after his initial tear, Watson tore his Achilles for the second time and underwent a second surgery in January 2025 to repair it.
Watson missed all of the 2025 season, but is now healthy again. The 30-year-old is entering the final year of his deal in 2026 and is expected to compete with Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel for Cleveland’s starting quarterback job.
On The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee asked ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter the question, “What is the quarterback situation in Cleveland, and Deshaun Watson arriving as a Cleveland Brown star quarterback could happen this upcoming season? Is that real?”
Schefter believes Watson is gaining steam to be the Browns’ QB1.
“I think that’s been one of the least talked about, biggest stories going into the season – the fact that Deshaun Watson could wind up being the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns,” Schefter said.
“I think that’s absolutely on the table. It feels like it’s moving towards that right now. Now, Todd Monken comes in, and who knows exactly what he’s going to do. But they’re going to take a look at everybody.”
In March 2022, Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns after being traded from the Houston Texans to the Browns, who gave away a bunch of draft picks (including three first-round picks) in the deal.
Of course, Watson has faced plenty of adversity in recent seasons, on and off the field. He played in just six games in his first season with Cleveland in 2022 after having to serve a suspension and then was limited to just six games in 2023 and seven in 2024 due to season-ending injuries, before missing all of the 2025 campaign due to injury.
A three-time Pro Bowler during his time with the Texans, Watson has a 66.2 completion percentage for his career with 17,904 passing yards and 123 passing touchdowns with 48 interceptions in 73 career games with the Texans and Browns since being selected by Houston in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.
In 19 games for the Browns, Watson has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.