The Cleveland Browns made it to the headlines again late last week and – as usual – the story was not totally positive. The team announced that Deshaun Watson would be he starting QB in Week 1 after a “QB competition” in Training Camp that did not leave the fans in Cleveland ecstatic with the selection. In addition to the fans going berserk over this choice, lots of commentators piled on as well.
I am not a Cleveland Browns fanboy; and I don’t pretend to have any inside information about how or why the team made it to their conclusion. So, let me try to evaluate that situation with a minimal expenditure of reaction by my adrenal glands. And to set the tone for this evaluation let me say:
- There is no clear cut “right answer” here.
Let me start with Deshaun Watson. Among the fanbase, he is as close to a pariah as possible. There was a mixed reaction to his acquisition in the first place; at the time, he was seen as having potential to be a franchise QB, but in addition to the baggage he carried from off-field ‘incidents” to the cost of 3 first round picks to get him in a trade plus that monster fully guaranteed contract given to him by the Browns, he never lived up to his on-field potential.
- From 2022-2024, he was available for 19 games as a starter.
- The Browns’ record in those games was 9-10-0.
- Then, he missed all of 2025 with an injury.
In an exhibition game this year, he had a poor showing and the fans booed him loudly; he said he didn’t care which inflamed a lot of those fans even more. So, the choice of Watson as the starter in Cleveland strikes many as picking an injury-prone guy who did not light it up when he was healthy and whose baggage with the fanbase is approaching critical mass. So, why pick him?
The Browns cannot just cut Watson without incurring a humongous dead money hit on their cap AND they would still have to pay him the balance of the contract that is due to him because it is fully guaranteed. So, if the team must have him on the payroll, maybe it makes sense to find out if there is anything he might contribute to a team that is surely not going to the Super Bowl this season. Some have opined that the owner dictated this selection of the starting QB so he could “get something for his money”. Who knows? Remember, in Watson’s first 4 years with the Texans he was selected for the Pro Bowl 3 times and made the All-Pro team once; is there any juice left in that lemon?
The fan favorite is Shedeur Sanders; backup QBs are often the most popular guy in town on teams that are not playoff teams. The Browns got a decent look at Sanders last year when he started 7 games for the team; the results were a mixed bag:
- The team record in those 7 games was 3-4-0. Not bad for a 5-win team.
- He threw 7 TDs and 10 INTs in 2025. Not good.
- He was sacked on 9.7% of his pass attempts; that means he held the ball far too long. Also, not good.
Perhaps the Browns saw enough last year to conclude that Shedeur Sanders is a career backup and what the Browns need to do is to find a franchise QB. If they decided that Sanders is never going to achieve that status, then there is no reason to start him this year. The counter to that argument is that Sanders is only 24 years old while Watson is 30 years old. So, experimenting to find the “QB of the Future” for the team should favor testing out younger talent.
And there is another horse in this race; Dillon Gabriel is also on the roster, and the Browns drafted Gabriel ahead of Sanders in the same Draft class in 2024. Gabriel started 6 games for the Browns last year with less-than-positive results:
- The team record in those games was 1-5-0. Not good.
- He threw 7 TDs and 2 INTs. Not great – but better than Sanders’ stats there
- He was sacked on 9.3% of his pass attempts; Not good.
[Aside: Since both Sanders and Gabriel were sacked on almost 10% of their drop backs, maybe it was a faulty OL that was to blame for those stats?]
Gabriel clouded the waters in the final exhibition game this season with these stats in that game:
- 12 of 15 for 186 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs (Passer rating = 157.9)
As I said above, there is no clear-cut answer to the puzzle here so let me now say how I think this will all play out. The Browns open the season with two road games (at Jax and at Tampa); that means the team will not hear the ire of the local fanbase until September 27th when the Panthers come to Cleveland. If Watson and the Browns could win either of those road games, perhaps a portion of the Watson haters would hold some of their hatred in abeyance; so, look at those first two games as a no-cost option for the team. The acid test will come for the Browns in Game 5 on the road against the Jets. If the Browns are 0-4-0 entering that game and lose to a lowly Jets’ squad, you can be sure that Shedeur Sanders will be the starter in Game 6.
Assuming that Sanders and/or Gabriel perform similarly to how they performed last season – yes, I know QBs tend to progress in year 2 in the NFL – the Browns will go shopping for a franchise QB once again in the 2027 Draft. I think the Front Office there started to plan for that contingency when they traded Myles Garrett to the Rams in June. That means the team has two first round picks and a total of eleven Draft picks in 2027. That might be enough for the team to maneuver to a spot where they “get their guy” in what is touted to be a “loaded QB Draft”.
Here is my prognosis:
- Watson starts 5 games
- Sanders starts 10 games
- Gabriel starts 2 games
- Browns record is 5-12-0
- Browns have a Top 5 pick in the 2027 Draft, and they pick a QB there.
That is an easy conclusion for me to project; I am not a Cleveland Browns fanboy who has suffered with the team ever since it re-entered the NFL in 1999. Their suffering is real and it will not abate in 2026; the QB taken in Round 1 of 2027 will be a conquering hero for at least the first half-dozen games in 2027. After that, we’ll see …
Finally, Browns’ fans have had more than their share of frustration, so here is a positive thought for them from Sumner Redstone:
“Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………