Browns' Deshaun Watson gets huge update on starting QB job for 2026 season

Browns' Deshaun Watson gets huge update on starting QB job for 2026 season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cleveland Browns are not going into the 2026 NFL season with a long-term plan at quarterback, with Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders likely competing for the starting job for the regular season.

However, after the draft, there seems to be a frontrunner for the starting job that's a bit different from what has been indicated before.

According to Mark Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, the Browns are putting Watson on the inside track to earn the starting QB job for the 2026 season.

Browns leaning towards Deshaun Watson as 2026 starting QB

"Deshaun Watson emerged from the Browns voluntary minicamp last week with an edge over Shedeur Sanders in the two-man quarterback competition - and has the inside track to be named the Browns QB1, sources tell cleveland.com," Cabot writes.

This is some significant news, as the Browns might be turning away from Sanders, the 2025 Pro Bowler, in favor of the quarterback they're spending tens of millions of dollars on this upcoming season to be their starter.

With Cabot noting that Todd Monken will likely make a decision by mid-June, Sanders has a little over a month to try to convince the Browns to change their mind and name him their starter.

As Monken is bringing a new offense to Cleveland, Watson naturally has taken the lead, with Sanders likely falling behind due to struggles as a second-year player trying to learn a new offense for the second time in the NFL across the last two seasons.