The Cleveland Browns ended their open quarterback competition Monday, naming Deshaun Watson the Week 1 starter over second-year QB Shedeur Sanders — a decision that arrived just days after Watson himself became the story for all the wrong reasons.

Head coach Todd Monken said the staff evaluated "the full body of work over the course of offseason to training camp to the games, the joint practices" before concluding Watson gave Cleveland "the best chance to move the ball and score points." The depth chart now reads Watson, Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green.

A Rocky Preseason

The competition had been genuinely close. In the preseason opener against Chicago, Watson went 11-of-15 for 126 yards while Sanders completed six passes for 79 yards and threw an interception. The tables turned the following week against Buffalo: Sanders outplayed Watson, going 9-of-11 for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Watson managed just 36 yards on five attempts and threw a pick of his own.

It was after that Bills preseason loss that the story took its unexpected turn. Watson, booed by Browns fans following the performance, told reporters afterward that he didn't have much of a reaction to the jeers because he considers it "a disrespectful thing." He went further, referencing the Achilles tear that ended his 2024 season: "That same fan base, they cheered when I got hurt," he said, adding, "I don't regret anything in my life."

THAT SAME FAN BASE, THEY CHEERED WHEN I GOT HURT.

The remarks landed badly. Media figures called the comments tone-deaf, and some questioned publicly whether Watson would even keep his roster spot, let alone the starting job. Monken said afterward that the comments were "not a factor" in the coaching staff's decision — and named Watson the starter anyway.

Facing reporters for the first time as the confirmed QB1, Watson walked the remarks back. "Just human nature, just myself being very emotional," he said. "I thought I was going to get a little different response, but I think my emotions got the best of me." He clarified he "wasn't intending to go at any of the fans."

The stakes behind the decision are considerable. Watson missed all of 2025 recovering from a second Achilles surgery and is entering the final year of his fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract, carrying a $40 million cap hit for 2026. Sanders, the once-highly-touted Colorado and Jackson State product who fell to the fifth round of the 2025 draft amid pre-draft controversy, went 3-4 as a rookie starter and will now open the season on the bench.

Cleveland opens its regular season on the road against Jacksonville — Watson's first regular-season snap since 2024, in front of a fan base that, by his own account, he's still working to win back.