There are plenty of obvious legitimate reasons why Deshaun Watson could wind up as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback this season. He is a former three-time Pro Bowl player who once led the NFL in passing yards with the Houston Texans.
While his disappointing tenure with the Browns has not reached those heights since he arrived in 2022, he has shown just enough of his talent to keep him as an intriguing possibility. For example, the Browns won five of the six games he was able to start in 2023, before a shoulder injury ended his season.
Heading into this season competing with Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel for the starting job, Watson may have an edge that is being overlooked. Reaching back to his days with the Texans in the AFC South, and even further into college, the veteran has some knowledge he can put to good use.
Insider Mary Kay Cabot has revealed a potential advantage to Watson starting the season for the Browns, as their first two games are on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Florida, where he has had great success during his career.
“If Monken opts for Watson and his nine years’ experience over Sanders’ seven starts as a rookie in 2025, he might have a couple of things working in his favor in those back-to-back Florida games to start the season. Watson is 7-0 all-time vs. the Jaguars, including his lone victory of seven starts in 2024, an 18-13 win on the road. He’s also never lost in Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, either while at Clemson or in the pros,” Cabot wrote.
The Week 2 matchup at Tampa Bay’s home stadium is particularly interesting. It is where Watson won the 2017 national championship game with a last-second TD pass for Clemson, and he would likely be facing off against Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was traded away by the Browns after they acquired Watson.
Cabot has been at the forefront of media members claiming that Watson already has an advantage over Sanders after just one voluntary minicamp so far this preseason. She also has strongly maintained that the Browns are in win-now mode, which makes Watson an obvious choice rather than trying to find out if Sanders can be their quarterback of the future.
Yet, if the Browns are truly holding an open competition, as head coach Todd Monken declared, everyone could just wait to see how the quarterbacks do on the field when they get the chance.
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