Did the Cleveland Browns Tease Their 2026 Starting Quarterback?
During the rollout of their 2026 regular-season schedule, the Cleveland Browns might have given fans an easter egg as to who will be taking snaps under center in Week One. As all teams do, or attempt to do, the Browns released a fun and lighthearted video across their social media platforms showcasing who their opponents will be this upcoming season. The video featured a retro arcade and video game vibe, starring famous gaming YouTuber and Ohio native MatPat, who garnered worldwide attention for his "Game Theory" videos centered on titles such as "Five Nights at Freddy's" and "The Legend of Zelda". In the video, several Browns players are animated in the style of the legendary fighting game "Street Fighter", as well as their opponents.
What made fans perk up was something MatPat said at the halfway point of the video. An actor playing a Browns fan expresses his disappointment that he has no quarters left to play the Cleveland-themed cabinet game, and the YouTuber explains that this is the Week 11 point of the game, which is the Browns' bye week. In response, the fan retorts, "But my quarterback!", and MatPat replies, "Sorry, Shedeur is off this week." Notice how MatPat mentioned that Shedeur Sanders would be off that week, and not Deshaun Watson.
The throwaway joke in the video has given Browns fans cause to pause across social media. The video is now being used as evidence that the organization hopes the second-year fan favorite will be the starting quarterback in Week One, not the 30-year-old former Clemson Tiger. The video comes amid multiple reports that the $46 Million Man has the "inside track" to become Cleveland's starting quarterback, which has given the fandom even more to sink their teeth into. Unfortunately for Sanders, there are a multitude of reasons why this seemingly random comment from the schedule release video could be more of a tactic by the organization to throw fans off their scent, rather than an official announcement that Sanders will be the Browns' starting quarterback.
The first and obvious reason is that Sanders is the more beloved and popular figure amongst the fandom than Watson. Whether it be his history of sexual assault allegations or the fact that the 2022 trade that brought him to Northeast Ohio has been a huge mistake at this point, it is an understatement to say that Watson is not the fandom's golden boy. Juxtaposed to Sanders, the handsome and charming gunslinger with a famous name and a trademarked celebration, there may not be a more famous Cleveland Browns outside of Myles Garrett. The organization and makers of the schedule-release video obviously know that, and so they banked on mentioning Sanders as the starting quarterback in a way that could sway the fandom back to a franchise that has been underwhelming in recent years, to say the least.
Stepping away from cheesy social media videos and moving towards the reality of football, general manager Andrew Berry and Jimmy Haslam have all the incentive in the world to force Watson into being the starting quarterback. The Browns gave the Georgia native one of the biggest contracts in NFL History, and gave the Houston Texans a king's ransom of draft capital in return. Since then, the Texans have not only defeated Cleveland in the 2023 NFL Playoffs but have also gone to the postseason three consecutive times. They have been led by a defense captained by Will Anderson, who was drafted with Cleveland's draft pick that Houston received in the Watson deal. Next offseason, Watson is also set to be a free agent, meaning Berry might want the three-time Pro Bowler to perform well in 2026 in case the three young quarterbacks behind him are not cut out to be premium starters in this league. All in all, the schedule release video was surely a bit of good fun, and it gave Cleveland fans hope that Sanders has the true inside track to being the starting quarterback, but the logic of Watson starting makes too much sense at this point in the offseason.
