Deshaun Watson signed a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract with the Cleveland Browns in 2022. But due to a severe injury and an extended recovery period, he has not played a single NFL snap in 19 months.

By most measures, his time in Cleveland looked finished.

Yet when the Browns hit the practice field on April 21, 2026, for Day 1 of their voluntary minicamp, Watson was the first quarterback out there.

He split first-team reps with Shedeur Sanders, the fifth-round rookie from last year's draft, in what is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing quarterback competitions of the 2026 offseason. Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick from 2025, rounded out the group.

According to ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi and Jeremy Fowler, Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam made the team's position on Watson crystal clear at the league meetings in Phoenix.

"Deshaun has a great chance, fresh start, offensive-minded coach, who has, in his past, been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make him successful," Haslam said. "So Deshaun has a great chance to do that now."

Watson underwent surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon in October 2024. He required a second surgery in January 2025 and sat out the entire 2025 season. But the Browns still have faith in the quarterback's elite combination of speed and precision.

"Any time that you have a player that at one time has exhibited the skill set at an elite level," New HC Todd Monken, a first-time NFL head coach said at the NFL combine, "I think you're always going to give them the benefit of the doubt that somehow we might be able to get that out of him again."

Watson is owed $46 million in the final year of his $230 million contract. Since joining Cleveland in 2022, he has played just 19 games due to suspension and injuries, completing 61.2 percent of his passes with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Sanders Is Not Backing Down Without a Fight

While Watson gets the benefit of the doubt as the veteran, Sanders is not simply handing over the starting job. The former Colorado standout started the final seven games of the 2025 season, going 3-4 with an 18.9 QBR, one of the lowest marks in the QBR era.

Monken was direct about what he expects from the competition heading into training camp.

"I think it's an open competition," Monken said. "I don't think there's enough on film over the last couple years, one way or the other, to say, 'Boy, we have our starter at quarterback yet'."

The Browns have started 42 quarterbacks since returning to the NFL in 1999. Watson and Sanders are the latest names in that long and painful list. Whether either one can finally end the search is the biggest question in Cleveland heading into 2026.

What are your thoughts on Watson getting another shot as the Browns' starter?

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit