We heard last month that the Browns would likely retain quarterback Deshaun Watson for 2026, the last year of his contract. General manager Andrew Berry recently confirmed as much, as relayed by Cleveland.com’s Orange and Brown Talk Podcast.
During a recent installment of that podcast, Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot said Watson could find himself as the club’s starting quarterback once again, even if he is only a bridge to a younger passer. Watson has underperformed during his 19 appearances with Cleveland, but the other two QBs currently on the roster – Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel – failed to impress during their rookie campaigns in 2025.
The Browns will again be in the market for a quarterback in the first round of this year’s draft. They are armed with their own No. 6 overall pick and another first-rounder whose position will ultimately be determined by how the Jaguars finish the season, which could help Cleveland’s ability to trade up for a signal-caller if need be.
Regardless of how the Browns’ QB room looks after free agency and the draft, it appears Watson will be in the mix to be the Week 1 starter. Prior reporting indicated he has served as a valuable veteran presence for Sanders and Gabriel, and Cabot adds that the Browns liked what they saw from Watson after they opened his practice window in early December (even though he ultimately saw no game action in 2025 due to his Achilles injury).
Cabot did acknowledge that Watson’s status with the Browns could hinge on whom the team hires to be its next head coach. Former Ravens HC John Harbaugh is widely regarded as the best option on the market at the moment, and he reportedly has interest in the Browns’ gig. Cabot says Cleveland’s longtime divisional foe would be the sole decision-maker on the quarterback situation if the team is able to hire him.
“If you hire a John Harbaugh, he is certainly going to have every bit of say in who his quarterback is going to be,” Cabot said (h/t Yardbarker’s Zac Wassink). “He’s not just going to have input. He’s going to make that decision 100 percent.”
As a member of the Browns, Watson has compiled a 9-10 record, and his best season came in a six-game slate in 2023, when he finished with a traditional quarterback rating of 84.3 and a QBR of 43.7. His contract situation and off-field baggage aside, he has not looked like a viable starting quarterback since 2020, when he was a member of the Texans.
But he will not turn 31 until September, at which time he may have another opportunity to resuscitate his playing career.
Not only the Worst contract in nfl history
The most incomprehensible
Arguably, the worst contract in recent sports history. At least guys like Rendon
and Strasburg didnt being the off-field baggage.
The Herschel Walker trade takes 8th place compared to the Browns for Watson trade!
Ha
Well….the Browns certainly have paid enough!
Maybe they can all get a happy ending…
what a mess .. who in their right mind would want to coach this team ?
I’d take it for the money! Remember when Chuck Pagano said the worst that they can do is fire you?
Arty, you start Monday. Start packing and be in Cleveland by 10 am.
From google: The average NFL head coach salary is around $6-7 million annually, but it varies wildly, with top coaches earning $12-20 million+ (like Andy Reid or Sean Payton) and newer coaches starting around $2-4 million, as elite coaches command huge deals and first-timers now often land $10+ million, reflecting a booming market for coaching talent.
I’d be fine w/ $2-4m to start; wouldn’t you?
I’d take half of even that, lol
They have the best defense of all the teams that have openings plus the best defensive player in the league and the rookie defensive player of the league. The Raiders, Giants, Cardinals, Falcons and Titans all have longer playoff droughts
No qb, no $, and will need to replace their entire o-line. Awful situation.
And with their offensive line leaving goes their salaries. They will draft linemen. They have 3 picks in the top 38. The other teams don’t have a quarterback either unless you think Ward, Geno Smith and Dart are great. The Browns have one side of the ball to f8x when the other teams have major needs on both sides. As for n9 money, it’s a cap and it’s easily manipulated. They will definitely sign some free agents and hope to hit on the draft picks like this year. It’s definitely rebuilding but outside of Baltimore, what teams needing coaches aren’t rebuilding?
Sound like every Cleveland fan every year in the offseason. You’re standing in a hot dumpster with a smile. I don’t get it.
And yet every team looking for a head coach except for Baltimore has a bigger playoff drought than the dumpster fire. Most dumpster fires don’t have a top 5 defense
McDaniel would want this challenge.
Who would want to coach that?
Bro is post child for the best and worst contract in NFL history. Best for the players bc he somehow got a fully guaranteed deal and worst ever bc it’s fully guaranteed lol.
Did they have a meeting about how they could alienate potential head coach candidates?
Gee, at least he’d have the home crowd on his side, right?
(/s in case it’s needed…)
Please hire Dan Pitcher as HC and just trade for Aiden O’Connell so when Watson gets injured again, and he will, we have a backup plan….
Tracenv- No way can you have Pitcher, he’s the only reason the Bengals have more plays than Burrow to Chase, or Burrow to Higgins.
Browns have already interviewed him and he has a past connection to Andrew Berry…it could happen
And fairy dust COULD make us all magical unicorns, and Pubishers Clearing House could make us all rich, and we could all eat soap and fart bubbles and I find all of these scenarios much more likely to happen than Dumbshawn Watson ever gracing an NFL field again. Right now all they are lacking is trading for Anthony “bounce pass” Richardson to have the most inept, comical QB room in the entire league.
They already do, wven without Anthony “bounce pass” Richardson.
even
Suiting up in a Browns uniform for this guy is irritating enough, as it’s a constant reminder of the idiotic contract they gave this sex offender in the first place and how awful he was when he played…….they’d better be brainstorming on how to get rid of him
……..don’t put a new coach with that burden on playing him
He’s the best QB on the roster…he should be given every opportunity to compete for QB1 and that’s not saying much! Browns are just inept in everything they do
Oh that’s laughable 😅 Watson will only be on the 2026 team because cutting him will cost the Browns a TON of dead cap space…Andrew Berry will either draft a QB like Ty Simpson or trade for a young QB like Aiden O’Connell who can man the QB position .. it won’t be Watson….
Berry would be stupid enough to draft Ty Simpson. He’s not a 1st round pick
“He’s the best QB on the roster”
Extremely debatable. By opening day next year, it’ll be almost two full calendar years since he’s started a game. And when he did play last year, he looked absolutely terrible. Hasn’t played more than 7 games in a season in five years. I’d trust Gabriel or Sanders to be better at this point.
They were dumb for firing Stefanski to bring in a new guy while Watson is still on the roster. The Browns job is already not very desirable with no QB and currently no difference making QB in the draft who would fall to them. Should’ve kept their head coach and made a change with a clean, Watson-free slate
Stefanski had to go…his offense over the last two seasons were dead last and totally predictable…his time to go had come……
It’s not like he had much to work with. Look at his QBs the last 2 years and give me any coach who would’ve had success
Bc your GM mortgage the entire future on a BUST. No money left for other positions of need bc over 40% tied up on person who doesn’t care bc it’s guaranteed. This is why no team should have totally guaranteed money but rather very enticing incentive based contracts
Really ain’t got no choice. Thats a lot of guaranteed money owed. Let him and Shaduer battle it out.
They did get about $45M back last year because of injury insurance. Should get around $24M returned this season. Doesn’t make up for the fact that it was a horrible contract to give out in the first place but there is that silver lining.
I feel bad for Brown fans, they love their football. Unfortunately they have to endure the worse contract ever written in sports. Deshaun is an extreme bust and there is no way out from it until at least 2 more years.
You have the best Defensive Player with Miles but Your cap situation is horrendous.
Best of luck
Unfortunately, as a Browns fan, I can’t argue with a single word you wrote. You’re spot-on, dammit.
Got to hand it to Browns fans, you really have to love football to watch decades of this garbage and still support the team.
Watson would be comeback player of the year unless someone signs Kaepernick to a contract 🙂
Didn’t know Women’s Flag Football gave a Comeback Award. (BA-DUM-TSSS)
Time for Cleveland-area massage therapists to lock-and-load!
“If you hire a John Harbaugh…” lol, let me stop you there.
I agree that the Watson signing was awful. I didn’t like it at the time,but from a football perspective I understood it. A chance to get what you thought was a young pro bowl level QB who could lead your team for the next 7 to 8 years. And it’s the Browns so the only way to convince him to come was what they did, fully guaranteed contract. It blew up in their faces and set the franchise back about a decade before they are fully clear of it.
But all those that made the choice to sign Watson should have stuck around until said contract was finished with. Only a desperate coach would agree to jump in to this grease fire!
Still a Browns fan though!
Go Browns!!!