Could Deshaun Watson win back the Browns QB job?Yahoo Sports host Andrew Siciliano, senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein and senior betting analyst Ben Fawkes discuss the starting quarterback options for Cleveland in 2026 and why its former number one could be back behind center this upcoming season. Check out the full conversation on “Inside Coverage” - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
And Jory is writing on Yahoo!
Go check it out, about, well, various quarterback situations, including the one in Cleveland, in which both Todd Monken and Andrew Berry, the coach and GM in Cleveland, had a chance last week to say, "This is Shedeur Sanders' job."
Did not, which has been the company line since the season ended, and that is Shedeur or Dylan Gabriel for that matter, or as Jory is writing, Deshaun Watson has a chance to come out and win the job.
None of these quarterbacks has done anything, as Monken said, Jory, in the last two years to say, "This has gotta be my job.
We're handing it to you."
Whoa, what are you hearing?
Yeah.
One of the many reasons that Todd Monken has the chance to be the absolutely right coach for the Cleveland Browns at this time is because he's not coming in with these preconceived biases, and he went on this lengthy anecdote at the Combine about, "Well, if I had kids come into a class to take the test and I grade them before they test over how they look, who they are, would that be fair?"
And that's essentially what he said about all of his position battles and particularly pos- position battle with Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders atop the Cleveland Browns quarterback room.
it's easy for all of us to think that Deshaun is not going to be the guy.
He hasn't played a full season since 2020.
There's the suspension over sexual misconduct and allegations of harassment.
There were quite a few injuries in the recent seasons.
But the reality is he did get far enough along in his rotation last season, as you know better than we do, Andrew, to enter that 21-day practice window.
And from what I was hearing at the Combine, there were people who were turning some heads during that 21-day practice window being like, "Maybe this guy can still play.
Maybe he's got it back."
And I think when you look at what Deshaun Watson has done, he's always been a very good practice player when healthy.
And so if you're saying this is a guy who is a really natural thrower of the ball, who understands offenses and defenses at a higher level than the younger guys coming in, even if Dylan Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are excellent at what they do from a mental standpoint, they're still coming off their rookie year, and Deshaun's been in the league much longer than they have.
And when I went to training camp last year, I guess it was mini camp that I went to, and I said, "Hey, Shedeur, did Joe help you with this, or did Kenny help you with that?"
And he was like, "No, it was Deshaun who told me this tip for the red zone."
So he was kind of advising them on this.
And when you hear Todd Monken say that ideally they would have a QB one generally in place by training camp, that's when it gets really interesting because from a physical limitations standpoint, I'm not positive that Deshaun Watson is going to be able to get back to the point where he can thrive in the regular season or even play really strongly with a live pass rush with whatever the Browns have at their offensive line.
But I do think he's going to be really strong in practice, and so I'm not saying that Todd Monken is forgetting the roots of the season, but if he looks way better than Shedeur and Perez, which as I- I think is the likely reality based off where each of them are in their careers and what their historic skill sets are, the Browns are gonna be asking themselves, "Well, this guy who we're paying from a million guarantee, we can't get rid of the cap hit for him.
We can't get rid of the cash for him."
I know that these aren't always the same.
Why don't we give him a chance and see if the ceiling that we believe Deshaun has, which is considered higher than Shedeur, even if they were all saying, "Hey, Shedeur's got elite playmaking ability," why not see if that could work?
https://sports.yahoo.com/video/could-deshaun-watson-win-back-the-browns-qb-job-001445675.htmlIf this QB room stays more or less the same, I think it is a realistic option that we see Watson starting Week 1.
