At the beginning of March and looking ahead to the 2026 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns do not have a concrete plan for the quarterback position, at least as far as the public is concerned. Todd Monken has made it abundantly clear that Shedeur Sanders is not guaranteed to be the Week 1 starter, opening the Browns up for a potential quarterback competition.
Many have speculated that the front office is going to go after a low-budget free agent in the coming months, and if not that, then to pursue someone in the upcoming draft. Having two first-round picks is certainly appealing, but it remains to be seen how they’re leaning.
Sanders was the story in the second half of the 2025 campaign, but Deshaun Watson is still on this roster for at least one more season, and he’s not going away quietly.
“Browns QB Deshaun Watson training for the 2026 season,” ESPN Cleveland posted on X.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson training for the 2026 season 👀👀👀
Who do you think will win the Browns QB battle between Watson and Shedeur? pic.twitter.com/fqlfGvw6Kn
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) March 2, 2026
Despite not playing at all last season due to injury, and only starting 19 games overall for the Browns, Watson looks like he’s healthier than he’s been in years and is ready to give it another go.
As fans are unfortunately aware, Watson hasn’t exactly lived up to the performance level associated with a quarterback making this much money, and at this point, it could be too late for him to completely get back in their good graces.
However, if he looks the part during training camp and during the preseason, the Browns could give him another shot, especially if Sanders doesn’t take a step forward and they don’t pursue any other options of note. This team has been plagued by frustrating quarterback after frustrating quarterback, hoping they can eventually strike gold and find the person who’s going to take the reins for the foreseeable future.
Watson’s ceiling, as we’ve seen in the past, is an MVP-caliber player, so if he can get anywhere close to that in 2026, Browns fans will be overjoyed by that level of production.
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