It’s still hard to believe Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is here and the Cleveland Browns are somehow still starting Deshaun Watson at quarterback. It seemed as if that experiment was over, but after ownership planted the seed earlier in the offseason by reversing course on calling the trade for him a swing and a miss, it was inevitable he’d get one last shot, as unfathomable as that may be.
Shedeur Sanders arguably outplayed him all summer, yet Todd Monken (or the higher-ups, depending on who you ask) decided to open the season with Watson anyway. Many Browns fans won’t get on board with this decision, but what’s done is done and it’s full speed ahead for Week 1 at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tried to shed a little more light on the situation when breaking down this pivotal stretch for Watson and the team. He believes Watson will be given a reasonable leash to prove himself, but he still has to perform, just like anybody else.
“They’re going to base it on performance, like they would any player. I suspect a little grace here for a few reasons. One, they’ve got six players on offense that are either rookies or second-year players, and they know Deshaun Watson hasn’t played football in about two years. They are expecting some level of rust,” said Fowler.
A crucial stretch begins for Browns QB Deshaun Watson pic.twitter.com/FjI2OM9jkO
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 12, 2026
Fowler also pointed out how Watson is 7-0 as a starter against the Jaguars in his career and stressed that the Browns are optimistic and want this to go well while simply hoping for the best week to week.
This is the fair and understandable way for the Browns to play this. Even if he flops, it will be easier to pivot to Sanders than it would have been to go from Sanders back to Watson, which would have represented a firm waving of the white flag on the Sanders experiment and created a dreadful situation for all the fans.
Regardless of how this goes, it should be interesting to watch. Perhaps Watson can shock everyone and thrive in Todd Monken’s offense, which actually suits him much better than Kevin Stefanski’s offense ever did. We’ll know a lot more after Sunday.
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