The last time Watson took the court in the maroon and orange, he seemed overwhelmed by the pace of the game and the responsibilities assigned to him in former coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense. An Achilles injury ended that campaign after seven starts, and complications related to Achilles disease prevented him from playing at all in 2025.
By many accounts and assessments, Watson’s time in Cleveland was effectively over.
Then Monken came in and cleaned up the slate with his new team, including Watson, who said Wednesday he was fully healthy for the first time since Week 3 of the 2023 season. It was seven weeks before Watson put on the most encouraging performance of his Browns career in a 33-31 comeback win over the Ravens.
That second-half outing — 14 for 14 passing for 134 yards and a touchdown — gave Browns fans a season-long credence, but they quickly learned Watson wasn’t the same quarterback after breaking his throwing shoulder, which ended his 2023 season in a win this week in Baltimore.
“I’m trying to play a full season,” Watson, 30, said when asked if he’s thought about what might happen in 2027. “I’m just trying to be healthy so I can play the full 17-plus games. I don’t know. What happens will happen at that time.”
If staying healthy is priority no. 1 for Watson, then the win is on Sanders 1B. Throughout the 2026 season, the Browns have willingly opened the door for Watson to return to the fold, provided he earns it. Monken hasn’t provided an edge in June for either, but if Watson can find some semblance of the form that saw him lead the NFL in passing yards in 2020 while with the Houston Texans, the job should be his in August.
“It’s very important,” Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler, said of getting the chance to start again. “I think every single person that walks into the locker room should have the mindset that you want to start in this league. That’s why I show up every single day, to be able to go out there and play on Sundays, any day. That’s definitely the main focus of why I’m working so hard to be able to come back.”
However, Watson cautioned against setting too high expectations. The 2020 season was a long time ago.
“I’m not trying to repeat 2020 (season),” he said. “I’m a different person. I’m older. I’m wiser. I think at the same time everybody wants to turn back the clock, but we can’t. At the end of the game, I just had to focus on being the best product and player I can for Deshaun Watson as a Cleveland Brown player. That’s all I’m focused on.”
If Watson can achieve that goal, he could find himself back in the fold with one last chance to prove he’s worth working in the NFL. That will require beating out Sanders, a fifth-round pick in 2025 who found himself in the lineup as a last resort for Stefanski and managed to hang on to the job the rest of the season amid the ups and downs typical of Day 3 picks.
“It’s been good,” Watson said of their relationship. “I’ve known the Sanders family. I’ve known his brother way back when he was at SMU. … I used to hang out with the team and his brother was one of the players. Me and his family have a good relationship. We always just try to pull each other up.
“We both have the opportunity to go out there and put the best product forward for the team and let Monk and the organization choose who goes there and we’ll support each other.”
It is important to note that it is only June. The true test of Watson’s remaining abilities and skills will begin when the Browns take the field in the preseason in August. But for the first time since the start of the 2024 season, Watson has reason to be optimistic.
We’ll see if that optimism lasts long enough to make it to September.