Quarterback Deshaun Watson’s future with the Cleveland Browns was already uncertain beyond the 2026 season, considering he’s entering the final year of his contract. Now, even his future for this season appears uncertain, at least according to an NFL insider. Following Watson’s comments after Browns fans booed him during the second preseason matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Albert Breer sounds skeptical about whether Watson will remain in Cleveland for the 2026 season.

“I went into yesterday pretty certain that Deshaun Watson was going to be the Browns starter. Now I’m not sure he’s going to be on the team. That press conference is going to be difficult to come back from,” Breer wrote on X. “We’ll see how the decision-makers reckon with it.”

Watson started this offseason with optimism after coming from a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. Initially, the quarterback was favored to win the starting job ahead of the 2026 season. The narrative shifted during the offseason program, as second-year signal-caller Shedeur Sanders reportedly outperformed him.

Head coach Todd Monken, meanwhile, refused to name his QB1, as Watson started the preseason opener, while Sanders got the nod against the Bills. However, once Watson took the field during the second half, the Browns fans started booing him, something Watson felt was personal and disrespectful.

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“I didn’t have no reactions. I think the whole world knows 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.”

His comments, according to many around the league, may cost Deshaun Watson not only his starting quarterback job, but his future in Cleveland as well. Just a couple of weeks ago, Chad Johnson noted that the Browns may prefer to start with Watson, considering the quarterback has yet to live up to his five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract.

“I want you to have a better understanding that I love Shedeur,” Johnson told Shannon Sharpe and Joe Johnson. “I would love for Shedeur to actually start, but you think about the business side of things and how much money they’ve poured into Deshaun Watson and now with him finally being healthy despite I think what Shedeur may have do even if he’s outplaying him right now in training camp, you know, which he very well may be doing. I still think the Browns (will start with Deshaun Watson) simply because of the money that they owe him.”

That, however, doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. After signing him on a mega-contract, Watson failed to maintain consistency while suffering from multiple injuries. He was ruled out of most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries, respectively, while his 2025 season was washed away after he re-ruptured his Achilles tendon.

Amid all this, Watson also had a complicated relationship with the Browns fans. After he tore his Achilles tendon during the 2024 season, some fans started to cheer for him as he left the field. Since then, he has yet to take a regular-season snap. And after his recent comments, it’s difficult to predict whether that would be in Cleveland, according to Breer.