As the Cleveland Browns head into the home stretch of the QB race, Deshaun Watson is making one final push. And his failures so far in Cleveland are motivating him through it.

"I’m in a good A** space. This is year five, man. So this is that time, you know what I’m saying,” Watson said. “Just like everybody else, I’ve been waiting too. Things got to line up right, and I feel like this is the year that it can all come together.”

Ahead of his move from the Texans, Watson was one of top QBs in the league. However, since joining the Browns on a $230 million contract in 2022, the quarterback has posted a 9-10 record as the team's starter while throwing just 19 touchdown passes. Injuries have derailed his tenure in Cleveland.

He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after six starts in 2023. Then, in 2024, he ruptured his Achilles tendon and later suffered a second rupture during rehabilitation, forcing another surgery and costing him the entire 2025 season.

Out of the 68 games the Browns played during his tenure, he has appeared in just 19, and his record has been subpar at best. That's why Browns owner Jimmy Haslam labelled him as a swing and a miss. But will that be the story of his last season?

Watson is certainly putting in the work. He cut his vacation short to return to Cleveland. And just a day before training camp begins, Deshaun Watson pulled back the curtain on his offseason work, releasing an extended video.

“Stacking the days, getting the body and movement right. Making sure I’m at my peak going into training camp, getting ready for the season,” Watson said on his Instagram. “Body, mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally — everything is in the right space, and I’m constantly building every day. I’m locked in already. I’m ready, for sure.”

So far, he has impressed the Browns' new coaching staff led by Todd Monken.

Will Deshaun Watson start? Browns insider answers

During OTAs and minicamp, Watson posted a 67.7% completion rate while throwing 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

“He’s an extremely fast processor, very smart guy, he’s been working his butt off,” Browns QBs coach Mike Bajakian said on Cleveland Browns Daily. “It was obvious to us that before we had even got him on campus here, that he had done a lot of video work and things like that are pretty cool.”

In comparison, Shedeur Sanders posted a 69.7% completion rate with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot shared a unique perspective on the QB1 debate.

“The starters probably won’t play much in the first preseason game in Chicago Aug. 15, leaving only the home games against the Bills on Aug. 22 and the Patriots on Aug. 27 to see Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders against a live defense for a significant period of time,” said Mary Kay Cabot in a recent QnA with the fans on Cleveland.com.

We're much closer to finding out who the Cleveland Browns' real QB1 will be this season. Who do you think will win the race? Share your answer in the comments.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar