Cleveland Browns owner leaves door open for Deshaun Watson to start in 2026
There will be a QB competition in Cleveland over the offseason.
Cleveland Browns owner leaves door open for Deshaun Watson to start in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . It remains to be seen who will start at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns next season, but Deshaun Watson can’t be ruled out as a possibility.
Watson missed the entirety of the 2025 season due to a torn Achilles, but he’s now healthy and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam confirmed that he’s in the mix for the starting spot, along with second-year players Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. "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 them successful. So, Deshaun has a great chance to do that now," Haslam said.
"We talked to him the other day, he said he weighs the [least] he has in several years. He's in great shape, he'll be [in Cleveland] on April 7 when we start [the offseason workout program]. Let's see what Deshaun can do.
We're all excited. " Since signing a fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million deal with Cleveland in 2022, Watson has played in just 19 games for the Browns as a result of suspension and injury and won just nine. His total QBR in a Browns jersey is 33.