Todd Monken acted quickly on Monday, declaring that Deshaun Watson would remain the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After putting off the decision in the immediate aftermath of a dismal 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, Monken made sure to squash speculation about a potential change to Shedeur Sanders.
At first glance, that might not make much sense. Watson threw an interception on his third pass attempt, and he managed just 100 yards passing through three quarters as the Browns fell behind 31-0.
But after holding months-long quarterback competition that Monken is now mentioning as a reason for Watson’s poor performance, it might create even more chaos if he were demoted so soon. At least that’s what insider Mary Kay Cabot believes.
The beat reporter’s take on benching Watson might not be what you’d expect, as she maintains that the veteran deserves at least one more chance to run the offense.
“I think pulling the plug after Week 1 is premature. I think it would be a knee-jerk reaction, and I think they should give him that game in Tampa to see if he can rebound a little bit,” Cabot said.
“PULLING THE PLUG AFTER WEEK 1 IS PREMATURE.” 👀@MaryKayCabot says benching Deshaun Watson now would be a “knee-jerk reaction” and believes Todd Monken is making the right call sticking with him as the #Browns QB1. 🏈
▶️ https://t.co/Kutuy2KpBD pic.twitter.com/In8EgEAyTd
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) September 15, 2026
Cabot has been one of Watson’s most consistent advocates among the media, going back to the start of spring workouts. Her takes closely align with Monken’s public declarations about the quarterback, particularly with the idea that the goal is to win now rather than build for the future, and Watson gives the Browns the best chance to do that.
In this segment, she mentioned that Watson had not played a regular-season game in 22 months, which is true, but he looked almost exactly the same as he did in two preseason games this summer. Cabot also claimed the Browns’ offensive line is still trying to jell, even though it graded out as one of the best in the league in Week 1, according to ESPN.
That support will be almost impossible to maintain if Watson performs poorly again on Sunday. It would arguably be negligent to send him out to face an angry fan base in the Week 3 home opener against the Carolina Panthers.
Yet, Monken and Cabot might find a way to justify using Watson again, whether he improves or not.
NEXT: 2 Browns Players Who Were Bright Spots Despite Week 1 Loss
