Recent reports indicate that the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition might not be as much of a competition as many fans believe. During offseason workouts recently, Watson reportedly looked much sharper than his contemporaries and showed no signs of his twice-torn Achilles holding him back.
Watson is heading into his fourth year with the team and is looking to start a new chapter and put all the injuries and inconsistency behind him. Owner Jimmy Haslam is all for this as well after he walked back his comments about calling the Watson trade a swing and a miss, and he believes it’s time to finally see some return on his massive investment. EVP JW Johnson is on board with it as well.
He reiterated as much during a recent appearance on ESPN Cleveland, where he discussed Watson’s progress and urged the fans to get on board with the situation.
“Deshaun looks great by the way. He’s done a great job. He looks healthy. He’s in a great head space. We’ll see how it all shakes out. He’s got nothing to lose. If he’s our starting quarterback, I know there will be people that probably won’t be supportive, but they should be supportive as much as they can. If he plays great, then awesome. If he doesn’t, it is what it is and we’re look ahead to the future,” Johnson said.
"Deshaun looks great by the way, he's done a great job, he looks healthy, he's in a great head space," – @JDubsIII on Browns QB Deshaun Watson. pic.twitter.com/F819UFXnEy
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) April 29, 2026
It’s important that he added the caveat that he is aware that certain fans won’t support him. Watson’s off-field issues have been well-documented, and combined with the largest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history, Browns fans have had every right to choose not to root for Watson.
Johnson is also right to approach this from a standpoint of viewing this as a nothing to lose situation. The light at the end of the tunnel is finally approaching with Watson’s contract, and if he finally lives up to that contract, it will be great for the Browns, but if he doesn’t, it will be much easier to go find another QB next offseason in what should be a loaded draft class in 2027.
It’s hard to believe this is the timeline the Browns are currently in, but Watson is only 30, and it’s worth seeing if that franchise guy is still in there somewhere before moving on for good.
If Shedeur Sanders had looked a bit better during his rookie campaign, perhaps this wouldn’t be a discussion, as it’s not clear where his future may be as well.
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