BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken said Monday that he’s chosen Deshaun Watson as his starting quarterback based on a full body of work over the course of the offseason.It was time for Monken to make a call and for the remade Cleveland offense to turn its focus to the Sept. 13 season opener in Jacksonville. But the timing of this announcement couldn’t have been more awkward.It came two days after Watson was booed by the home crowd in a preseason game and said afterward he doesn’t know if he can handle the negativity involved with the fan base that cheered two seasons ago when he tore his Achilles.Given that Watson has made just 19 starts since the Browns gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in March 2022, him still being an option for Cleveland in 2026 is nearly as wild as Watson being named the starter after tearing the same Achilles again in early 2025, an injury that kept him out last season.Watson began his news conference Monday by apologizing for his response and said he remains committed to playing better football — for the fans and for the Browns’ franchise.What to expect from Deshaun Watson as the Browns' starting QBZac JacksonExternal expectations are about as low as Watson’s approval rating with the Cleveland fan base. But Monken chose Watson over Shedeur Sanders after a close, extended competition between the two because the coach believes Watson’s seven years of NFL experience gives the Browns, who play six of their first nine games on the road, the best chance to run an efficient offense.After Watson called the booing “disrespectful” and said he might need to approach the season like the Browns have 17 road games, opening on the road seems to be better for his chances of actually succeeding.“We did talk about (what Deshaun said), and I’ll keep most of what we talked about private,” Monken said. “But the conversation was (that) the way we make this go away is to play good football. We’ve got to own that.“Let’s move forward and work our rear ends off playing winning football. That’s it … and again, it was in the moment. We all have those moments. And we’re going to see moving forward. I have gotten no indication over the six months that I’ve been here that he doesn’t have the ability to bounce back as a player and compete at a high level. I have no indication of that.”Watson and Sanders alternated days operating the No. 1 offense throughout the spring and on every day but one through the first 18 training camp practices. They split the reps in Thursday’s joint practice with the Buffalo Bills, and each started one preseason game. Watson started and played the first half in the preseason opener in Chicago, and Sanders started Saturday’s second preseason game in which most starters didn’t take the field.“It was close. It was a hard decision,” Monken said. “But it’s what we’re paid to do, try to put the best players on the field to give us the best chance to score points and move the ball.“Ultimately, we expect Deshaun to play well or we wouldn’t be starting him.”Neither Watson nor Sanders will play in Thursday’s preseason finale versus New England, a decision Monken said was made after talking with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and his own assistants. Both teams want to make sure their regulars are healthy for the run-up to the regular season, so the Browns will play only backups and young players.The starters not playing Thursday means Watson will have played 10 preseason series. He was 5-of-12 for 35 yards and an interception in four series against Buffalo.That means he’s not exactly carrying momentum forward. But Watson said he remains confident that he’ll be healthy and able to play at a high level when the regular season begins. He also said the Browns have not unveiled the full playbook this summer and that he’s “excited to see what we can cook up” once the No. 1 offense gels and gets more work with everyone in place.“I have an organization and a team walking into the building today that (supports me) 110 percent, and I think that goes a long way,” Watson said. “I come in knowing that I have teammates in our locker room that support me, knowing that I have a coaching staff that supports me, knowing that I have an organization that supports me. The other stuff has to take care of itself on the field.“Now it’s my job to show that I’m capable of putting points on the board and getting wins, and I think that if we can do that, then I can earn the respect and loyalty of the rest of the fan base. That’s what I’ve got to do, because it was a big investment, and we haven’t gotten the product out of that investment so far. I have another shot, I have another chance, so I want to make sure I take full responsibility with this opportunity.”Though Monken again praised Sanders for the work and improvement he put on display in the spring and summer, he stressed that this is “not a week-to-week decision” and that Watson is considered the full-time starter.It now feels that Monken had long leaned toward starting Watson because of his experience and mobility, but he was hesitant to share details of what separated Watson from Sanders in the team’s final evaluation. And Monken knows there are plenty of folks outside the building who wonder why a new coach and a young team would go back to Watson instead of giving a second-year player a full opportunity to develop, but Monken is willing to double down on his decision.“Well, again, it’s the day-to-day (evaluation),” Monken said. “What (people outside) are not seeing is the film. They’re not in our building, so they’re not going to know what we know. Now, you can see with your own eyes, right? You can forecast what you expect it to be.“A number of those people weren’t even in practice. So, I don’t really concern myself with what they really think. I know what we think and what we see every day in our building, with our players, and the momentum we have, and we’re 100 percent behind Deshaun.”