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By the time the NFL season begins, Deshaun Watson won’t have played in nearly two years.
Since rupturing his Achilles tendon, the Cleveland Browns have drafted three quarterbacks, including Shedeur Sanders, who took over to close out the 2025 season after Dillon Gabriel, who started after Joe Flacco was traded, suffered a concussion.
However, Cleveland.com reported Wednesday that Watson still has the “inside track” to be named the Browns’ Week 1 starter, citing sources.
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Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns looks to pass during a voluntary minicamp for veterans at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, on April 21, 2026. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
On the first day of the team’s minicamp, Sanders was going to get more reps with the first team, but Watson ended up getting more. On the second day, Watson was the first quarterback to get first-team reps and again had the most players.
Gabriel, the outlet said, got none, and Watson “had earned the QB1 snaps by looking like a starting quarterback.”
Despite selecting Gabriel in the third round last year and Sanders in the fifth, Cleveland added one more quarterback to its crowded room last week in Arkansas’ Taylen Green.
Cleveland Browns quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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It’s a young Browns roster, as it appears their top three playmakers are in their first or second seasons (running back Quinshon Judkins is entering his second year, while the Browns drafted wide receivers at ages 24 and 39). The Browns also moved on to the offensive line with the ninth pick. So, as Cleveland.com mentioned, the veteran Watson may be better equipped for that type of environment.
However, he is entering the final year of his $230 million contract and management admitted it was a “miss.”
Cleveland’s quarterback play was poor all season no matter who took the snaps, ranking 31st in completion percentage (57.89%) and passing yards per game (165.1). Sanders’ three wins as a starter were more than Gabriel and Flacco combined, but his 56.6 completion percentage was the lowest, as was his 4.7 interception percentage, keeping the quarterback competition open.
Shedeur Sanders watches as Deshaun Watson performs a drill during a volunteer minicamp for veterans at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, on April 21, 2026. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
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Since Watson was acquired ahead of the 2021 season, he has played in 19 of a possible 85 games, throwing for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while dealing with injuries and a suspension amid sexual assault allegations.
