Deshaun Watson Fantasy Stats

Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken said on Wednesday that quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders will continue to split first-team reps early on in training camp, according to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. Monken also mentioned that there is no definitive timeline for when he wants to name the team's starting QB. We might not know for a while still which way Monken is leaning in the team's QB battle. Watson, 30, has the experience edge, but he has also played in just 19 games since joining the Browns on a lucrative deal, and he didn't play at all in 2025 after needing multiple surgeries to fix a torn Achilles tendon suffered in 2024. Sanders, meanwhile, has the momentum and has impressed the coaching staff since he fell to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL draft. The 24-year-old showed plenty of growing pains as a rookie with 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in eight games (seven starts). Whoever wins the Browns' QB job to begin the regular season will be on a short leash and will be nothing more than a low-end QB2 target in two-QB superflex fantasy leagues.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) is back in the conversation, which is more than dynasty managers could say a year ago. He missed all of 2025 after re-rupturing his Achilles and undergoing another surgery, then returned this spring to share first-team work with Shedeur Sanders. The Browns have not named a starter and will carry the battle into camp. Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green are still in the room, too. Watson's last game action came in 2024, when he threw for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in seven starts. He added 148 yards and a score on the ground, but 33 sacks told the other side of the story. RotoBaller ranks him QB30 in dynasty. That keeps Watson relevant in deeper Superflex leagues, though almost all of the appeal is tied to this season. He is 30, has not completed a full schedule since 2020, and is entering the final year of his contract. Contenders can hold through the competition. Rebuilders should be willing to move him if the starting job creates a market.

When NFL teams gather for training camps at the end of the month, one of the league's most intriguing battles will be for the starting quarterback job in Cleveland. Browns veteran Deshaun Watson was thought to have an early edge in the pass-heavy setting of OTAs and minicamp, though reports from some of the later sessions seemed to indicate that second-year pro Shedeur Sanders had significantly narrowed the gap. A former first-round pick of the Houston Texans, Watson was once viewed as a rising star in the league, but his career has been derailed by character issues and a string of serious injuries, most recently missing the entirety of the 2025 season after rupturing his Achilles tendon for the second time. He has not thrown for more than 1,150 yards since 2020, and even if he wins the starting job outright, existing health concerns would only be compounded by the rigors of a full 17-game season. The Browns have done an admirable job of building around the quarterback position, spending three top-40 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft on offensive line and wide receiver after hitting on rookie tight end and running back Harold Fannin Jr. and Quinshon Judkins in 2025, and Watson could gain an advantage by what he's able to provide with his legs. While not an exciting pick, the 10th-year veteran is practically free at the end of 2026 drafts, currently coming off the board as the QB32, but if he's able to win the job and stay healthy, he could add surprising value in Todd Monken's offense and is a worthwhile dart-throw as a third quarterback in superflex leagues.

The Athletic's Zac Jackson writes that Cleveland Browns new head coach Todd Monken would have liked to have a starter already named going into training camp in late July, but he "wants and needs to see more" from both quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders this summer. Ultimately, Monken said he will play "whoever gives us the best chance to score, and I won't know that until we play." He wants to see more "consistency and confidence" from both Watson and Sanders in training camp than what he saw this spring. Jackson adds that it's safe to say that Watson "looked like the same player in his return from a year and a half away that he was before his two Achilles tendon injuries." Watson is healthy and threw downfield occasionally with confidence, but he "lacked consistency and too often threw into traffic." Jackson doesn't think there is much reason to want Watson to play unless he's "clearly their best option." The 30-year-old Watson has been a Pro Bowler three times (all before he came to Cleveland), but it appears he might have to thoroughly outplay Sanders to win the starting gig going into Week 1. Either way, this QB situation is one to ignore for fantasy managers, if at all possible. Whoever wins the starting job this summer probably will have a very short leash to begin the regular season.

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry said on 92.3 The Fan that "everything is on the table" with regards to quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) this year. "Honestly, the public discourse doesn't really have a factor in terms of how we think about putting together the team or Todd in terms of putting together the best lineup...that really doesn't play a factor into it," Berry said when asked how past comments about the Watson trade play into the future. Watson, who missed all of last season with a twice-torn Achilles tendon, is competing with second-year QB Shedeur Sanders for the starting job in new head coach Todd Monken's offense. Last spring, owner Jimmy Haslam said that the trade for Watson was "a big swing and a miss." The Browns have acknowledged that the trade for the 30-year-old was a disaster after they signed him to a five-year, $230 million deal in March of 2022. Watson has played in just 19 games for the team since he joined them in 2022, but all of that is history now, and Berry isn't ruling anything out, including a potential new deal for the QB as he heads into his final year under contract with the organization. For fantasy purposes, Watson will be a low-end QB2 target in superflex leagues if he wins the job over Sanders. He hasn't played a full season since 2020 with the Houston Texans, and he's completed 61% of his passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in his 19 games with Cleveland.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has not reached 1,200 passing yards or double-digit touchdowns in any season since 2020, and yet with the starting job in Todd Monken's new-look offense purportedly up for grabs, there may be life left in both his NFL and fantasy careers. Between Watson and Shedeur Sanders, whoever wins the starting quarterback role will find themselves somewhat insulated by the team's recent and heavy investments into the offensive infrastructure. After seeming to hit big on tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and running back Quinshon Judkins in the 2025 Draft, Cleveland spent four 2026 Day 1 or 2 picks on the offensive side of the ball and eight in total. When at his best, Watson possessed a rushing element absent from Sanders' game, and with Monken having spent the last three seasons with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, that could become a factor in his decision to name a starter. Still stuck at RotoBaller's dynasty WR30 with a realistic chance of reclaiming the starting job, the 30-year-old Watson is a low-cost addition who could provide usable depth to a contending superflex squad.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) was the first QB up in both team and individual drills on Wednesday during the team's second OTA practice, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Shedeur Sanders was second in individual drills, followed by Dillon Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green. In team drills, Gabriel was second behind Watson with the first-team offense, while Sanders mostly worked with the second team. The 30-year-old Watson looks to be fully recovered from a twice-torn Achilles tendon that kept him out for all of the 2025 campaign. He will be competing primarily with Sanders for the starting gig under center in 2026, although offseason reports have suggested that Watson is in the unofficial lead, primarily because he's made 72 starts in the NFL and is a three-time Pro Bowler. A report surfaced earlier this week that Watson and new head coach Todd Monken have hit it off, which insinuates that the Browns are leaning toward naming Watson as their starter eventually. Although Watson looked like a future star with the Houston Texans earlier in his career, he's been a massive bust in Cleveland and won't be much more than a low-end QB2 in superflex leagues if he wins the starting QB job over Sanders.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler was told that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) has "hit it off" with new head coach Todd Monken, "who's got an offensive concept, some elements that Watson has run in the past and been his best at." Although second-year QB Shedeur Sanders is the better long-term option for the Browns under center, offseason reports favoring Watson continue to emerge. The Browns aren't tipping their hand at all as to whether Watson or Sanders has the lead in the offseason QB competition, but as long as he's recovered from a twice-torn Achilles tendon that kept him on the sidelines for all of 2025, the 30-year-old Watson appears to have the current edge over Sanders. Since signing a five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns in March of 2022, Watson has only started 19 games and completed 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. However, he has the momentum with a new coaching staff and has reportedly recovered nicely from his Achilles injury suffered in 2024. In RotoBaller's 2026 QB rankings, Watson sits at No. 32, with Sanders at No. 34, so neither signal-caller will be much of an option for fantasy managers in traditional single-QB leagues in 2026.

Cleveland Browns executive vice president JW Johnson said on ESPN that quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) "looks great by the way, he's done a great job, he looks healthy, he's in a great head space." The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mark Kay Cabot writes that Watson emerged from the team's voluntary minicamp last week with an edge over second-year QB Shedeur Sanders in the two-man QB competition this offseason. According to sources, Watson has the "inside track" to be named the team's QB1. Head coach Todd Monken is hoping to name his starter under center by the end of the Browns' minicamp that runs from June 9-11. There's still a lot of time between then, but Sanders, a fifth-rounder in 2025, has "plenty of ground to make up." Sanders will really have to impress the Browns' coaching staff to make things more interesting going into training camp this summer. Watson missed the entire 2025 season after twice tearing his Achilles, but he's made great progress and appears to be fully healthy. The 30-year-old isn't expected to stay in Cleveland beyond the 2026 season, but he might give the Browns the best chance to win immediately, and he definitely has much more experience than Sanders. If he wins the QB1 job, Watson will be a low-end QB2 in fantasy as he looks to be the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) has gone first in most of the early drills during the team's offseason program over second-year QB Shedeur Sanders, and Watson's arm and agility "look good," according to Mark Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Although Watson has not played since October of 2024 due to a twice-torn Achilles tendon, owner Jimmy Haslam said at the owners' meetings in late March that the 30-year-old signal-caller has a "great chance" to compete for the starting QB gig in 2026. Watson is heading into the final year of a five-year, $230 million deal that he signed with Cleveland in 2022. There have been conflicting reports about who is the favorite to win the starting QB job this summer between Watson and Sanders. Watson probably doesn't have a future with the Browns beyond the 2026 campaign, but if he's fully healthy, he has way more experience than Sanders and could give the team's offense a higher ceiling. At best in fantasy football, Watson will be a low-end QB2 with a lot to prove in superflex leagues if he wins the starting job.