Browns Planning To Start Deshaun Watson Week 2

Per Tony Grossi, Browns HC Todd Monken said he anticipates QB Deshaun Watson starting their Week 2 game against the Buccaneers.

Monken brought up Watson’s week of practice and feels he will continue to improve. He thinks the team needs to do better as a whole, including the coaches.

“I liked his week of practice last week and I think he’s only gonna continue to get better,” Monken said, via Zac Jackson. “We gotta play better around him. We gotta call it better and he’s gotta play better.”

Watson, 30, was taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft out of Clemson by the Texans. He signed a four-year, $13.854 million rookie deal with the Texans that included a fifth-year option of around $17.3 million for the 2021 season.

The Texans later signed Watson to a four-year extension worth as much as $177 million heading into the 2020 season, paying him $39 million a year. However, Watson requested a trade after the season, then sat out the entire 2021 season while navigating more than two dozen lawsuits for sexual misconduct. He was later suspended for 11 games. 

Watson was traded to the Browns for significant draft compensation in 2022 and signed a five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract as part of the trade. The deal runs through 2026 and includes base salaries of $46 million in each of the final two seasons. 

In 2024, Watson appeared in seven games for the Browns and completed 63.4 percent of his pass attempts for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He added 31 carries for 148 yards and another score.

In 2026, Watson has appeared in one game for the Browns and completed 16 of 22 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He’s also rushed six times for 38 yards.