Deshaun Watson Has Inside Track To Earn Browns Starting Job In 2026

According to Mary Kay Cabot, Browns QB Deshaun Watson took the lead in the quarterback competition after last week’s voluntary minicamp and has the inside track to earn the starting job in 2026. 

Cabot explains Browns HC Todd Monken doesn’t want to prolong the quarterback competition into training camp, as the team felt last year like their four-way competition detracted from being able to build chemistry with the rest of the roster. She says Monken wants to identify a starter by the end of the offseason program in June. 

That gives Shedeur Sanders six weeks to try and overtake Watson, per Cabot, but she notes he’ll have to make strides and dazzle the coaching staff. 

Watson’s veteran experience has helped him stand out as the whole offense is learning Monken’s system, and Cabot says there are concepts Monken leans on that Watson has executed well in the past. 

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.

We’ll have more on the Browns’ quarterback situation as the news is available.