A lopsided season-opening loss has turned up the heat on Deshaun Watson, and many are wondering how long he will remain the starting quarterback. With the Browns preparing for Sunday’s road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the conversation surrounding Watson is whether he will survive another poor outing.
92.3 The Fan’s Ken Carman did not hold back when discussing what is riding on this weekend for Watson.
“It’s not wishful thinking. I just think he sounds like a guy who knows that Sunday’s his Waterloo. If he looks just as bad as he did Sunday, you know what you saw. What you saw was a player who was scared. [If] he looks like that on Sunday, I don’t think there’s any chance that they play him against Carolina at home. And I usually don’t speak with a lot of certainty on that, so you can read between whatever lines you want to read between,” Carman said.
"I just think he sounds like a guy that knows that Sunday's his Waterloo. (If) he looks like that on Sunday, I don't think there's any chance that they play him against Carolina at home. And I usually don't speak with a lot of certainty on that, so you can read between whatever… https://t.co/zPtdwu7zLT pic.twitter.com/nqoogSPFqs
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 17, 2026
Watson’s Week 1 performance is what set this entire conversation in motion. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 205 yards with 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 1 fumble, throwing the pick on Cleveland’s opening possession of a 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The offense did not find the end zone until under two minutes remained in a game that was decided by halftime.
Head coach Todd Monken chose to stick with Watson for Week 2 anyway, pointing to positives buried in the tape and noting that Watson had only had two weeks of first-team reps after splitting camp practice time with Shedeur Sanders. That explanation bought Watson another start, but Monken has been careful never to frame it as a long-term commitment.
Sunday’s game in Tampa comes right before the Browns’ home opener in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers, and Watson’s history with Cleveland fans makes that date loom large. He was booed loudly during his lone preseason appearance at home, and another poor showing against the Buccaneers would only add fuel heading into his first meaningful chance to play in front of that crowd.
There is also a subplot working against Watson this week. Former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield now starts for Tampa Bay, and a blowout loss to the player Cleveland once moved on from would not do Watson any favors in the court of public opinion.
Sanders remains the alternative many fans already wanted in the starting role, and every shaky Watson performance keeps that debate alive.
NEXT: Baker Mayfield Gets Honest About His Time With Browns
