Head coach Todd Monken just handed the keys back to Deshaun Watson for a fourth season. The stats are ugly, the record is worse, and the front office still isn't listening. Here's the file.
CLEVELAND, OH — AUGUST 2026
That's not decoration — it's 42 different starting quarterbacks since 1999. Watson is just the latest.
In August 2026, the Browns named Deshaun Watson their Week 1 starting quarterback for the 2026 season, passing over rookie Shedeur Sanders and 2025 starter Dillon Gabriel. It's the same call the organization has made every year since trading for Watson in 2022 — despite three losing seasons, a lost 2025 season to injury, and a preseason performance that didn't move the needle.
Source: ESPN, "Sources: Browns tab Deshaun Watson, not Shedeur Sanders, as QB1"The full record the front office had in front of it when it made the call anyway.
Watson signed a five-year, $230 million contract in 2022 — fully guaranteed, the largest in NFL history at the time. Here's what Cleveland has gotten for it on the field.
| Season | G | Comp % | TD | INT | Rating | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6 | 58.2% | 7 | 5 | 79.1 | 3–3 |
| 2023 | 6 | 61.4% | 7 | 4 | 84.3 | 5–1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 63.4% | 5 | 3 | 79.0 | 1–6 |
| 2025 | Did not play — ruptured his Achilles twice within 12 weeks (Oct. 2024, re-tear Jan. 2025) and missed the entire season. | |||||
| 2026 preseason vs. BUF | 1 | 41.7% | 0 | 1 | — | 5/12, 35 yds |
Career as a Browns starter: 19 games, 9–10 record, 61.2% completion, 19 TD / 12 INT.
Source: Pro Football ReferenceBetween 2021 and 2022, nearly 30 women filed civil lawsuits against Watson alleging sexual misconduct — including unwanted touching and exposure — during massage therapy appointments between 2017 and 2020, while he played for the Houston Texans. Two separate Texas grand juries reviewed the allegations and declined to bring criminal charges, and Watson has denied all of the allegations.
Most of the civil suits were settled in 2022 on confidential terms; the final two were resolved in 2024, and no lawsuits remain pending against him. Separately, the NFL found that Watson violated its personal conduct policy and suspended him 11 games for the 2022 season along with a $5 million fine.
Sources: NPR · NFL.comAfter being booed during a preseason game against Buffalo, Watson called the fan reaction "disrespectful" and referenced his 2024 injury:
“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles. And that same fanbase, they cheered when I got hurt.”
— Deshaun Watson, postgame press conference, August 2026It didn't go over well with people who talk about the NFL for a living:
If I was a Browns fan, I wouldn't go to the game.Dan Orlovsky, ESPN
The Cleveland Browns franchise is rotten to its core… it's a disease.Ari Wasserman, On3
Actively antagonizing the loyal Browns fans… and also absolutely awful at football.Rodger Sherman
Real footage, hosted on YouTube — each card opens the original video in a new tab.
Add your name if you're sitting out Browns games, merch, and concessions until there's a different quarterback under center — or a front office that actually listens to the Dawg Pound.
No one's signed yet — be the first.