Watson's $230 million contract meets a two-front test in Cleveland
Preseason quarterback competitions rarely produce clean verdicts, but Saturday's game at Huntington Bank Field arrived with a contract overhang large enough to reshape the read-through. Deshaun Watson, working the third quarter…
Key takeaways
- In Saturday's preseason game at Huntington Bank Field, Deshaun Watson completed 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards with an interception, while Shedeur Sanders went 9 of 11 for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
- The Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback competition now leans toward Sanders, with coach Todd Monken praising his confidence and improved release.
- Watson has thrown 19 touchdown passes in 19 games and collected $184 million under his $230 million contract, with availability broken by a suspension and multiple season-ending injuries.
- Watson was booed by fans, calling the reaction disrespectful and saying winning the starting job would feel like playing 17 away games this season.
- Monken had targeted next week to name a starter, but that timetable is now uncertain, and one preseason quarter did not resolve the competition.
Preseason quarterback competitions rarely produce clean verdicts, but Saturday's game at Huntington Bank Field arrived with a contract overhang large enough to reshape the read-through. Deshaun Watson, working the third quarter against Buffalo's second and third-string defenders with Cleveland's own depth players around him, completed 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards and threw an interception. Shedeur Sanders, who played the full first half mostly against backups, went 9 of 11 for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The competition for the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback job now leans visibly toward Sanders. Coach Todd Monken cited Sanders' confidence and his improved ability to release the ball, saying there was "a lot there to like" in the performance. Monken had set the start of next week as his target for naming a starter. That timetable is now uncertain.
The contract as context
Against the backdrop of Watson's $230 million deal, Saturday's box-score comparison is especially stark. Watson has delivered 19 touchdown passes across 19 games under that contract and has collected $184 million. His availability has been broken by a suspension, a season-ending shoulder injury, a season-ending Achilles injury, and a second Achilles injury that kept him out of all of last season. Saturday was his first appearance at Huntington Bank Field since 2024.
The crowd did not soften for the occasion. Fans booed Watson, who called the reaction "a disrespectful thing" and noted that the same fan base had cheered when he tore his Achilles at the same venue. Watson said he had tried to build goodwill during his time away, through charity work and a determined effort to return to the field. "I guess it hasn't," he said of those efforts. He said the dynamic had become personal and that winning the starting job would feel, in his words, like playing 17 away games this season.
Monken acknowledged the crowd's reaction directly: "It sucks." His prescription, though, pointed back to performance. "When we play good football, everybody will be fine," he said.
The macro caveat is straightforward. Sanders' first-half work came against Buffalo's backups with Cleveland's depth players around him. Watson's third-quarter sample came from a similarly uneven context. Monken retains final say on the depth chart, and one preseason quarter is not a regular-season read-through. On balance, Saturday shifted the competition without resolving it.
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