Starting Deshaun Watson would be a waste of time and resources for Cleveland. Deshaun reportedly has the inside track to start after minicamp, but trying to salvage one contract year from an obvious mistake will not rehab that move’s image. Letting Watson’s fully guaranteed contract end with him holding a clipboard for Shedeur Sanders is the best value the Browns can hope to retrieve from Watson’s remaining year.
Here’s why starting Deshaun Watson in 2026 makes zero sense for a franchise trying to build for the future.
Deshaun Watson’s Dismal Production Since Joining the Browns
Watson’s on-field results with Cleveland keep the argument against starting him simple. In 19 games across three injury-plagued seasons, he has posted a passer rating of just 80.7. This is well below league average and nowhere near his Houston Texans prime.
Here are his key Browns stats:
19 games played
341 completions / 557 attempts (61.2%)
3,365 passing yards (6.0 yards per attempt)
19 touchdowns
12 interceptions
Compare that to 2024 alone (his last healthy stretch): 7 games, 1,148 yards, 5.3 yards per attempt, and a 79.0 rating. Watson looked inaccurate, hesitant in the pocket, and proved prone to negative plays. Starting him again in 2026 means placing a bet on a quarterback who hasn’t been an above-average NFL starter in six years. If this is meant to represent some kind of bridge to the future, the Browns are simply setting themselves up to be held back by high water.
Injury Concerns Make Watson a Liability
Watson’s availability is the biggest issue. He has finished only 19 games for the Browns since the 2022 trade. He missed the entire 2025 season after rupturing his Achilles (his second such injury in recent years) and battled a shoulder injury in 2023.
At age 30, and considering the type of injuries he has endured, the risk of another setback remains high. Going against aggressive defenses like the Ravens and Steelers twice a year obviously increases the risk.
The Browns simply can’t afford to waste 17 weeks hoping he stays healthy when he clearly is not a part of their future.
The Opportunity Cost of Starting Deshaun Watson
This is the biggest “waste of time and resources” argument. Every practice rep, every game snap, and every minute in every meeting given to Watson takes away from an opportunity to evaluate Shedeur and decide if they need to make high-value moves/trades to get their quarterback of the future in 2027.
Sanders showed flashes in eight games (seven starts) as a rookie in 2025: 1,400 yards, 7 touchdowns, but also 10 interceptions and a 68.1 rating. In order to make any determination about his future, he needs every possible starter’s rep available in every situation. There is no upside in having him sit behind a veteran who won’t be on the roster next year.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy
Watson’s massive contract has been restructured four times to manage the cap, but the money is already spent. Starting him to “get value” out of the deal is flawed logic. It’s something that I have read and heard from several pundits, and it simply makes zero sense. There is no logical argument that suggests that somehow, through reverse mathematics, starting Watson this year returns value on every dollar lost through what is now quite obviously one of the worst trades in the history of the NFL.
Why prolong the mistake by reminding people of it every Sunday when you trot out Watson to start, knowing he has no future with the franchise?
Surely, they can’t have forgotten 2021, where he served an 11-game suspension, something that ticket buyers definitely remember, will always be connected to the trade, and will be a primary reason why some fans will be willing to pack his bags to get him out of town at the end of his contract.
Admit the mistake, eat the last bit of sour that his final contract year provides, and just move on.
The Last Word
There is zero upside in even considering starting Deshaun Watson.
None.
Cleveland has an opportunity to set itself up for the future by either identifying Shedeur as the long-term, possibly franchise quarterback it needs or recognizing quickly that he’s not the answer. This can only be done by getting him on the field this year, as 2027 will be the one that may require bold moves to target the passer they covet. And when I suggest bold, I mean “Myles Garrett on the trade block” bold.
These are the kind of decisions that require the most detailed information about your situation at present that you can gather. It’s the type of information that you cannot get by trying to justify your massive mistake in trading for Deshaun Watson by starting him in 2026.