Now that Deshaun Watson has played in an NFL football game for the first time in nearly two years, the Cleveland Browns shouldn’t need nearly as much time to shed clarity on their muddled (for now) quarterback situation.

Watson – dogged by controversy, injuries and an albatross of a contract since the Browns’ disastrous trade for him four years ago – had an unremarkable day at Chicago’s Soldier Field against the Bears on Saturday, Aug. 15 … if you’re judging by the box score (11 of his 15 throws completed for 126 yards). Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. didn’t help him, either, his third-down drop of a perfectly placed Watson throw forcing the Browns to settle for a field goal on their second drive of a game they’d eventually lose 34-10.

But otherwise?

Watson’s largely uninspiring performance could be sufficient on its own to confer the QB1 job to NFL sophomore Shedeur Sanders … and maybe it even serves as the one-way trip out of Cleveland many Browns fans would love for Watson to take. Starting the game with the support of several established first-stringers, Watson wound up overseeing six drives – which produced the aforementioned field goal, a touchdown run by rookie KC Concepcion, three punts and a turnover … by Watson.

A Pro Bowler in three of his four seasons with the Houston Texans to start his career, Watson appeared as removed as ever from the player he once was. Failing to feel the pass rush, he suffered a strip sack in the second quarter. The mobility he used to feature to such great effect seemed diminished by the multiple Achilles surgeries he’s had since the tendon first ruptured to end his 2024 campaign. And though his passing stat line looked, well, passable, Watson didn’t push the ball downfield − none of his completions covering 10 air yards, receivers doing the bulk of the work with yards gained after the catch after gathering in his dump-offs.

“It was the Deshaun Watson experience – we’ve seen some good, we’ve seen some bad. … (A)s the game went on, we started to see him get a little shaky in the pocket, got a little nervous in the pocket,” said NFL Network analyst and former All-Pro defensive lineman Gerald McCoy, who also suggested that Watson looked apprehensive physically.

“I don’t know if it was what (Browns coach) Todd Monken was looking for.”

Shedeur Sanders preseason performance

Sanders, while playing with backups in the second half, didn’t exactly distinguish himself, either. Still, Watson’s lackluster showing should give Sanders, who will start Cleveland’s next preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, all the leeway he needs to win the starting position for a young team clearly in the midst of a rebuild following the hiring of Monken and subsequent stunning trade of 2025 Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams two months ago.

“Deshaun Watson – he’s had every opportunity to be the starter, the long-term solution. Shedeur Sanders, this is his second year,” McCoy said. “If you look at what they did, they gave up a generational talent in Myles Garrett because they want to go younger. Shedeur Sanders is young. (If Sanders play well), then this is who I believe they should go with, because Deshaun Watson has had ample opportunity. He can’t help that he’s been injured, but the Deshaun Watson that they expected to get – which is how he played in Houston – they have not (gotten) that.

“If it’s close, if Shedeur Sanders is (close), I say you go with Shedeur.”

I’d take it a step further and suggest it might be time to part ways with Watson. The battered soon-to-be 31-year-old is not going to get any more meaningful snaps this preseason, barring an injury to Sanders. He’s not going to be on this roster next year, even though Watson and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam briefly entertained the possibility earlier this summer that a guy who’s still radioactive to a significant degree following the accusations he faced from dozens of massage therapists might actually re-sign in 2027. (What else is either going to say to such inane questions?)

The situation feels similar to the one faced by the post-Brady 2021 New England Patriots, who cut former league MVP Cam Newton just prior to that season after rookie first-rounder Mac Jones was selected as the starter coming out of training camp.

The 2026 Browns aren’t going to win the Super Bowl, either, but it’s hard to fathom a reason they shouldn’t take an extended look at Sanders – to determine whether he is the long-term answer in Cleveland or if a team armed with two first-round picks next year (thanks to the Garrett trade) needs to focus that draft capital on its latest attempt to obtain a franchise passer.

Keeping Watson doesn’t further the cause from that perspective, and why even retain his services as a potential midseason alternative when second-year man Dillon Gabriel is also on the roster? Sure, everything I’ve read, heard and been told is that Watson has been a steady presence in the quarterback room, even while he rehabbed, over the past year. But the only logical reason – and probably the overriding one − to keep him around in 2026 is the accounting flexibility to write off the approximately $86 million in dead money the team will likely split between its 2027 and ’28 salary caps … likely the final insult to bear of the fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million extension Haslam was crucified for giving Watson.

“I just think as a front office, you have a responsibility to look toward the future – win now, but you also have to look toward the future,” NFL Network analyst and Super Bowl-winning fullback Michael Robinson said.

“We haven’t seen that MVP mold from Deshaun Watson in, what, three or four years? So if they’re looking toward the future, I think Shedeur should get the roadway to get an opportunity to be the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.”

And given the way Watson drove in Chicago? All the more reason to give Sanders the wheel for good in 2026.

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