Is the Cleveland Browns $46 Million Man the Right Option at Quarterback in 2026?

With steam picking up from the Cleveland Browns training camp site in Berea, Ohio, the speculation on who will be taking snaps at the quarterback position will become more and more palpable as summer approaches. The franchise has been looking for a leader at quarterback for the last 27 years and counting, and heading into Week One of the 2026 NFL Season, the search continues. General manager Andrew Berry and majority owner Jimmy Haslam tried to find the answer in former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, sending over a king's ransom of draft capital and awarding Watson with one of the biggest contracts in the history of the league. However, the move has resulted in a "big swing-and-miss", in Haslam's own words.

Since trading for the former Clemson Tiger four years ago, the Browns have seen Watson miss huge increments of time due to an 11-game suspension in 2022, a season-ending injury to his shoulder the following year, and multiple Achilles tears over the last 24 months. When he's been available for the Browns, the results have been considerably fine, but not nearly what Berry and Haslam expected when they dished out $230 million guaranteed. In 19 starts, Watson has led Cleveland to a 9-10 record, throwing for 3,365 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. The best stretch of Watson's tenure with the Browns came in 2023. In five starts that season, Cleveland went 4-1, the highlight being a statement road victory against the Baltimore Ravens, in which Watson led his team on a game-winning drive. After he recovered from season-ending surgery, his 2024 was an asboutle disaster. The Browns started 1-6 before Watson was sidelined with his first Achilles tear, with the 30-year-old playing some of the worst football of his career.

With so much baggage that comes with Watson's stint in Cleveland, and the emergence of young Pro Bowl quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Browns fans are unhappy with the idea of him having the "inside track to be named the Browns QB1", according to beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot. Watson has not finished a full season of professional football since 2020 and could also be viewed as a roadblock to the fan-favorite Sanders, who himself has had to deal with rumors of being unpopular within the organization. There's also the fact that this is a franchise that has routinely found itself at the bottom of the totem pole year after year, and is trying to get to the postseason for just the fourth time this century; simply put, fans aren't very happy with the team about putting Watson back into the starting job. With all that being said, here is how Watson can play his way back into the good graces of the "Dawg Pound" and prove that Berry and Haslam made the right decision heading into the final year of his contract.

Although the quarterback is the single most important player on the field, Cleveland's offense has the potential to be so talented that it might not matter how great Watson plays in 2026. Quinshon Judkins is primed for a huge second year behind a newly improved offensive line that features rookie Spencer Fano and free agent acquisitions Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins, along with a new run-heavy scheme propped up by head coach Todd Monken. The offense is also welcoming two new pass catchers in rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, whom Cleveland took in the first and second rounds. Concepcion provides lethal speed that should help Watson in throws down the middle of the field or in the slot, and Boston gives the veteran signal caller a deep ball threat he hasn't seen in Cleveland since Amari Cooper. Should he stay healthy, this will be Watson's first year in which he plays with both Jerry Jeudy and Harold Fanin, which further bolsters what could be a sneaky good Browns offense in 2026.

There's also the ever-fierce Cleveland defense, which has ranked near the top of the pack for the last few seasons. When the defense boasts Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, and the offense can win the majority of its battles off the back of Judkins, Watson may have the best of both worlds to support him. The eight-year veteran may only have to manage the game and limit turnovers to bring the Browns to the playoffs, as they managed to do the same thing in 2023 with Joe Flacco and PJ Walker playing in Watson's absence just a few seasons ago. Watson will have to keep his head under the radar and keep the ball out of opposing defenses' hands, but if the pieces around him play as projected, there is a chance Watson can regain glimpses of what he showcased in his best season in Cleveland.