Deshaun Watson appears set to keep the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback job after the team's 2-1 start to the 2026 season. What began as a week-to-week discussion after Week 2 has moved toward short-term stability, with the Browns no longer looking at the position as something to revisit every game.
According to Daniel Oyefusi, team sources said Watson's performance through three games has not changed the Browns' long-term evaluation of him, but the team's surprising start has shifted the internal conversation. Instead of focusing on whether Watson is the answer beyond this season, the Browns are now more interested in whether he and the team can keep building momentum in the short term.
Watson's strong stretch came at the right time
Watson, the 31-year-old quarterback, was in a difficult spot entering the season. He had beaten out Shedeur Sanders for the starting job in training camp in Week 1, then lost the opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars as Cleveland opened the year with a loss. After Week 2, Ian Rapoport reported that the Browns planned to re-evaluate the QB1 position.
That changed in Week 3, when the Browns returned to Watson as the starter and he played well enough to push the team away from a week-to-week approach. Over three games, Watson has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 587 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He has also added 105 rushing yards, giving Cleveland a more stable look on offense than it had earlier in the season.
What the Browns are deciding now
Team sources told Daniel Oyefusi that Watson's ability to avoid one bad play turning into a string of bad plays has stood out. That matters for a Browns team trying to keep its early success from slipping away. The club is not treating Watson as a long-term solution, but the recent results have made it easier to stay the course for now.
The quarterback picture is also shaped by the rest of the roster. Mary Kay Cabot reported last weekend that the Browns had no plans to trade Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel by the Nov. 10 deadline. Sanders was slated to back up Watson on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Dillon Gabriel was on IR with a back injury.
Watson's contract is also part of the bigger picture. He signed a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns in 2022, and his current contract is expiring. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2024 and later returned for the final year of that deal, making every healthy stretch and every start part of a larger evaluation.
For now, the Browns record is doing some of the talking. A 2-1 start does not settle the long-term debate around Watson, but it has clearly changed the immediate one. Cleveland has moved from uncertainty to short-term patience, and Watson has done enough to keep the conversation there.
