Deshaun Watson will open the season as the Browns’ starter at quarterback, even after a calamitous preseason outing over the weekend after which he called boos from Cleveland fans “disrespectful.”
Todd Monken, the Browns’ first-year coach, has decided that Watson will start the team’s season opener Sept. 13 at Jacksonville, a source confirmed Monday morning to Front Office Sports. Watson, entering his fifth season with the Browns since the team traded three first-round picks as part of the package to acquire him from the Texans in 2022 and signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract, got the starting nod over second-year pro Shedeur Sanders.
The Browns will make another, perhaps final attempt to get something out of what so far has been one of the worst trades—and contracts—ever in professional sports.
It could amount to a two-game trial for Watson before the Browns play their home opener in a Week 3 game Sept. 27 against the Panthers. They’re also on the road for a Week 2 game Sept. 20 against the Buccaneers in Tampa.
Watson, who turns 31 next month, missed all of last season after suffering a second rupture of the Achilles’ tendon in his right leg. He has played in only 19 games over four seasons with the Browns, totaling 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He very rarely has resembled the three-time Pro Bowl selection that he was over his first four NFL seasons with the Texans.
