The Cleveland Browns are finally ready to get their money’s worth, realizing this quarterback competition has dragged on far too long. The choice came down to two stark realities: Deshaun Watson, who offers seasoned experience after a lost 2025 campaign, and Shedeur Sanders, whose 2025 flashes don’t offer the guarantee the franchise needs. But will the Dawg Pound ever truly embrace a leader with such a complicated history? They might not have a choice, as the front office ultimately gambled on veteran insurance over unproven inexperience.

“Just in: Deshaun Watson has been named Cleveland’s starting quarterback for week 1 at Jacksonville,” ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter reported on X

At 30, Watson hasn’t started a regular-season game for the Browns since 2024 due to a reckless string of injuries and off-field turmoil. But to understand why the franchise remains so tied to him, you have to look back at the passer he used to be. Before arriving in Ohio, Watson put up elite numbers across 54 games with the Houston Texans, accumulating 14,539 passing yards, 104 touchdowns, and just 36 interceptions, alongside a 104.5 passer rating and a 67.8% completion rate.

That Pro Bowl resume convinced the Brown to trade three first-round picks and hand him a massive $230 million contract. And that’s precisely the second reason why the front office doesn’t want to waste their “big swing and miss.” The veteran still has a $40 million cap hit this year, which marks the final year of his contract. So that, and the position of being the senior member of the Browns’ QB room, is exactly why he got the green light. 

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However, the decision to go with Watson does not come as a surprise. Reports already suggested the veteran was leading the competition. Critics also suggested that the competition was a sham, pointing out that Sanders was not receiving an equal opportunity in the process.

“All these kids, their teams get behind them. They try to develop them. They give them the most amount of reps,” Cleveland radio host Tony Rizzo said on The Really Big Show. “They are not handing anyone a job. I’m not asking for that. But to say that he’s [Shedeur Sanders] been treated fairly here, it’s ridiculous.”

The preseason dynamic only stoked the fire. Watson got the start against Chicago, completing 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards to outshine Sanders (6-for-11, 79 yards, 1 INT). But when Sanders got the nod against Buffalo, the script flipped: Sanders threw for 74 yards and a touchdown (9-of-11), while Watson sputtered, completing just 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards and an interception.

Head Coach Todd Monken ultimately stood by his stance that Watson gives Cleveland the best chance to win today. For the Cleveland faithful, however, that explanation remains a tough pill to swallow.

The rift between Cleveland fans and their high-priced quarterback runs deep. In four seasons, Watson has appeared in just 19 games. He served an 11-game suspension in 2022 following sexual misconduct allegations, missed 11 games in 2023 with a shoulder injury, suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 7 of 2024, and re-tore the same Achilles in January 2025, costing him the entire 2025 season. That’s more than enough reason not to like a player, don’t you think? 

The boiling point arrived during his 2024 injury, when fans cheered as he was carted off the field. 

“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles and that same fan base, they cheered when I got hurt,” Watson said. “So what does that have to do with anything about performance? When a person gets hurt, especially for your own city and they cheer.” 

To make matters worse, the Cleveland fans booed the 30-year-old after his struggling performance last Saturday against the Bills. 

“It has nothing to do about the performance,” Watson said of the boos. “It’s a little bit personal. I think that’s a disrespectful thing. I’m going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. Just move on.” 

Watson doesn’t know if he can win the Dawg Pound, but now that he has the keys to the offense, the 30-year-old has all the more reason to prove himself while he still has his guarantees reserved with the Browns.