In Cleveland, a franchise finds itself caught between the weight of a historic financial commitment and the quiet hope of a graceful exit. The Browns' reported decision to start Deshaun Watson in 2026 is less an act of faith than an act of accounting — a last attempt to restore enough luster to a diminished asset that another team might take him on. It is a story as old as sport itself: the gap between what we pay for and what we receive, and the lengths institutions will go to close it.
Browns ownership may be positioning Watson to leave, GM suggests
He's trying to get blood from a stone, but it's not going to work.
Mark
So the Browns are starting Watson over their rookie. That sounds like they still believe in him.
Mimi
That's the surface reading, but the reporting suggests something different. An unnamed GM told the insider that ownership is essentially trying to get Watson out the door.
Mark
How does starting him accomplish that?
Mimi
If Watson plays well enough, other teams might sign him as a free agent next year. Then Cleveland gets a compensatory draft pick back. It's damage control.
Mark
They've paid him $180 million and he's barely played.
Mimi
Right. Nineteen starts since 2022. An 11-game suspension, two Achilles injuries, and when he was healthy enough to play, he was one of the worst starters in football.
Mark
So this is about trying to recoup something from a failed investment.
Mimi
Exactly. They can't get the money back. But if they can showcase him and get him signed elsewhere, at least they get a draft pick. It's the best outcome available to them now.
Mark
What about Shedeur Sanders?
Mimi
He's the future, theoretically. But he's being benched for a guy the organization has apparently given up on. It's a strange position to put a young quarterback in.
El Pulso
- A $230 million fully guaranteed contract has yielded just 19 starts and a franchise in quiet crisis, with Watson's Achilles injuries and suspension swallowing years the Browns cannot recover.
- Ownership's reported push to prepare fans for a Watson-led 2026 season landed like a thunderclap, exposing a front office navigating between public narrative and private desperation.
- An unnamed GM cut through the spin bluntly — the Browns may not be starting Watson because they believe in him, but because they need him to perform well enough for another team to want him.
- Shedeur Sanders, drafted as the franchise's future, now waits in an unusual limbo — passed over not by merit but by the financial mechanics of a deal made before he arrived.
- The entire strategy hinges on a fragile hope: that Watson can play well enough in 2026 to generate free-agent interest, earning Cleveland a compensatory draft pick as the only remaining return on their investment.
In Cleveland, a franchise finds itself caught between the weight of a historic financial commitment and the quiet hope of a graceful exit. The Browns' reported decision to start Deshaun Watson in 2026 is less an act of faith than an act of accounting — a last attempt to restore enough luster to a diminished asset that another team might take him on. It is a story as old as sport itself: the gap between what we pay for and what we receive, and the lengths institutions will go to close it.
The Cleveland Browns emerged from voluntary minicamp last week with a signal that surprised many: Deshaun Watson, not rookie Shedeur Sanders, holds the inside track to the starting quarterback job in 2026. By Thursday, NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that Browns ownership had moved aggressively to condition the fanbase for this outcome.
But the reasoning behind the decision is more unsettling than the decision itself. An unnamed general manager speaking with La Canfora offered a stark read: the Browns are not starting Watson out of belief in his abilities. They may be starting him in hopes that he plays well enough to leave. Owner Jimmy Haslam has paid Watson $180 million with almost nothing to show for it, and league sources suggest the organization is now angling for Watson to attract free-agent interest next offseason — which would yield Cleveland a compensatory draft pick, a modest consolation for one of the most expensive contracts in NFL history.
The numbers behind this situation are difficult to absorb. Watson's five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal — signed when he was acquired from Houston in 2022 — became a cautionary tale almost immediately. An 11-game suspension for sexual misconduct allegations cost him his first season. Then a torn Achilles in October 2024, followed by a reinjury, erased 2025 entirely. In total, Watson has started just 19 regular-season games as a Brown, and when he last played, he was widely regarded as the league's worst starting quarterback.
Shedeur Sanders, brought in as the long-term answer at the position, now finds himself in a strange holding pattern — not benched for performance, but sidelined by the financial and reputational math of a deal made years before he was drafted. Watson's 2026 audition is less a vote of confidence than a final transaction: one last chance to make a broken investment worth something to someone else.
The Cleveland Browns appear to be signaling that Deshaun Watson will open the 2026 season as their starting quarterback, a decision that caught many fans off guard when it emerged from the team's voluntary minicamp last week. On Wednesday, word spread that Watson had "the inside track" to the job over Shedeur Sanders, the rookie the franchise drafted in 2025. By Thursday morning, NFL insider Jason La Canfora was reporting that Browns ownership had "kicked into overdrive" to prepare the fanbase for this outcome.
The calculus behind this move is not what it appears on the surface. An unnamed general manager who spoke with La Canfora offered a blunt assessment: the Browns are not necessarily betting on Watson to succeed. Instead, they may be trying to position him to leave. "Jimmy Haslam has paid [Watson] $180M, and he's got nothing to show for it," the GM said. "He's trying to get blood from a stone, but it's not going to work. Watson is done."
The financial reality is staggering. In March 2022, the Browns acquired Watson from Houston and locked him into a fully guaranteed five-year deal worth $230 million—one of the most expensive contracts in NFL history. Since then, Watson has been a catastrophic investment. An 11-game suspension in 2022 related to sexual misconduct allegations kept him sidelined early in his tenure. Then came injuries: a torn right Achilles in October 2024, followed by a reinjury that sidelined him for the entire 2025 season. Through the end of last year, Watson had managed just 19 regular-season starts in a Browns uniform.
When he has played, the results have been grim. Watson was arguably the league's worst starting quarterback the last time he took the field before the Achilles injury. The performance gap between him and what the franchise hoped to acquire is so wide that ownership appears to have shifted strategy entirely.
According to La Canfora's reporting, some league sources believe the Browns are now hoping Watson can play well enough in 2026 to attract interest from other teams as a free agent. If Watson signs elsewhere next offseason, the Browns would receive a compensatory draft pick—a small consolation for the $230 million they've already spent. In other words, ownership may be trying to salvage something from the wreckage by giving Watson one more chance to prove he can still play at an NFL level, not because they believe in him, but because they need him gone.
This puts Shedeur Sanders, the young quarterback the team drafted to be its future, in an unusual position. He was brought in as the long-term answer, yet he's being passed over for a veteran whose injury history and on-field performance suggest the experiment has failed. The decision to start Watson in Week 1 is less a vote of confidence and more a final audition—one last opportunity for a player who has delivered almost nothing in return for nearly a quarter-billion dollars.
Citas Notables
Jimmy Haslam has paid [Watson] $180M, and he's got nothing to show for it. He's trying to get blood from a stone, but it's not going to work. Watson is done.— Unnamed NFL general manager to Jason La Canfora
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