On Monday, August 24, HC Todd Monken finally announced the Cleveland Browns‘ franchise quarterback for the 2026 season. A battle that lasted around four months ended up rewarding Deshaun Watson with the QB1 job over Shedeur Sanders. However, not everyone is satisfied with the decision.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Deshaun Watson has been awful,” Linda Cohn, who worked 34 years for ESPN as a sportscaster till June 2026, said on her show. I mean, not disappointing, not inconsistent, AWFUL. Since arriving in Cleveland, he’s played 19 games. He’s gone nine and ten.
“He’s suffered multiple injuries, not his fault, missed all of last season, and when we last saw him play meaningful football, the Brown’s offense was dead last in the NFL. Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders has outplayed him in the preseason, but apparently none of that mattered.”
Deshaun Watson joined the Cleveland Browns in 2022 after throwing for 14,539 yards while posting 104 touchdowns in just 54 regular-season games. However, the same output wasn’t visible, with suspensions and injuries complicating his time in Cleveland.
In total, Watson played only 19 games in his last four seasons with the franchise, where he racked up 3,365 passing yards and 19 TDs. But amid that, there may be another crucial factor behind HC Todd Monken appointing the veteran as QB1, which at least Cohn strongly believes to be the actual reason.
“My guess, if you ask, this decision came from higher than Todd Monken,” Cohn added. “I’m not talking about the almighty. Maybe ownership wants one final attempt to justify this contract. Good luck with that.”
Deshaun Watson is entering the final year of his five-year, $230 million, fully guaranteed contract signed in March 2022 with the Browns. However, in the past four seasons, owing to Watson’s absences, his market value has seemingly taken a toll.
But if he performs well in the upcoming season, the 30-year-old QB presents the franchise a possible opportunity to trade him for premium assets, including draft capital. Despite that, Linda Cohn questioned Todd Monken & Co.’s decision as she felt Shedeur Sanders to be more deserving than Deshaun Watson.
When the Browns entered the offseason, Monken & Co. already deemed Watson as the potential franchise quarterback. However, as training sessions passed by, Sanders heated up the competition.
To that end, even in the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on August 22 (two days before the QB1 announcement), Sanders outplayed Watson by completing 9-of-11 passes for 74 yards while posting a touchdown, compared to the veteran’s 5-of-11 pass completions for 36 yards.
However, Browns HC Todd Monken had his reasoning behind the call, which he revealed to justify selecting Deshaun Watson over Shedeur Sanders for the 2026 season.
“Took in the full body of work over the course of the offseason to training camp, to the games, the joint practice, and ultimately felt like to start the season on the road, Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points,” Monken said. “I mean, that’s really what it’s about.”
With that, amid the scrutiny against Monken’s decision, Watson will lead the Browns’ offense in the Week 1 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 13. But surely, many critics like Linda Cohn will double down on their thoughts if the veteran puts out an underwhelming performance.