The Browns managed to turn a quarterback mess into something even messier on Saturday, and the latest twist only deepened the confusion in Cleveland.
Shedeur Sanders got the start against the Bills and held his own, at least on the stat sheet that matters most in the moment. He finished 9-for-11 for 74 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Then Deshaun Watson took over, and the reaction from the home crowd made the situation impossible to miss. Watson was booed heavily and completed just five of 12 passes for 36 yards and an interception.
That alone would be enough to raise eyebrows, but the real problem is what Cleveland has already been signaling. The Browns had been clearly lining Watson up to start the opener against the Jaguars on Sept. 13, even though he has not played a regular-season down since 2024. Now coach Todd Monken has a call to make.
The Watson saga has dragged into year five, and what still stands out is how little of the blame has stuck nationally to the Haslams. Their names are tied to this disaster, and they remain at the center of a move that has only grown harder to defend as general manager Andrew Berry has drafted better in recent years. The whole thing also sits alongside their push to build a new stadium with Ohioans’ unclaimed government funds.
Back in the spring of 2022, Cleveland was desperate for quarterback stability. Baker Mayfield had fallen off badly in 2021 while dealing with injuries, and after the Rams gambled on an upgrade and won the Super Bowl, the Browns followed the same basic idea.
Instead, they handed out one of the biggest contracts in football history to a quarterback who faced north of 20 allegations of sexual misconduct and had not played since 2020. The move alienated much of the football world and plenty of people in Cleveland, too. Watson then served an 11-game suspension in ’22, and in a sense the trade marked the NFL’s formal entry into the post-accountability 2020s.
Even if the decision had been morally indefensible, it still could have been a football win. It wasn’t.
Watson has been worse than anyone could have reasonably imagined, and bad luck has piled on top of bad play. In 2022, he threw seven touchdowns and five interceptions in six games.
In 2023, he again appeared in only six games while Cleveland pieced together its encouraging playoff run without him. In 2024, he played seven games before tearing his Achilles, an injury some Browns fans cheered, which tells you plenty about how ugly this all became.
And while Cleveland was spinning its wheels, the Texans used the draft capital they got from the Browns to help build a team that looks like a potential Super Bowl contender.
At this point, Watson’s presence is helping nobody. Not the Browns as a whole.
Not Watson, as a player or as a person. Not Sanders, who needs to start most of this season so Cleveland can figure out what it has before a quarterback-heavy 2027 draft.
Not Dillon Gabriel, who is still there. Not the Browns’ intriguing skill players.
Not what should be a good defense. And certainly not the NFL, which should understand by now that there is such a thing as too little accountability.
In short, it is a wreck. And for one of sports’ most forlorn franchises, it did not have to get this bad.
Canadian moment, Part I: the Rockies put up a statue of Hall of Fame right fielder Larry Walker (born in Maple Ridge, B.C.).
Canadian moment, Part II: White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters (born in Winkler, Manitoba) cranked his team’s second walk-off home run in three days-with a banana bat, no less.
The Braves beat the Brewers in another successful Little League Classic, ending it with a 1-6-3 double play.
Professional first pitch from Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan before the Dodgers shut out the Pirates.
What a comeback from a Phillies team that can do no wrong right now.
In Other News...
Browns Fans Are Being Pushed Toward A Breaking Point Over Watson
The fallout from Deshaun Watsons latest press conference is spilling well beyond the podium, and the Browns fan base is feeling it in a way that could follow the team into the stadium. ESPN commentator Dan Orlovsky even suggested that Cleveland supporters think twice about showing up for home games after the clubs decision to keep Watson as the starter over Shedeur Sanders, a move that only deepened the frustration around a quarterback situation that has already been under a microscope.
Watson has since issued a public apology for his comments, but it has done little to quiet the unease around the Browns direction. The timing only adds to the tension, with Cleveland opening the schedule on the road for its first two games before finally coming home in Week 3, when the response from the stands will be impossible to miss. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Secondary Suddenly Has A Roster Problem Before Week 1
The Browns secondary has spent much of training camp trying to hold itself together, and the latest setback only adds to the pressure with Week 1 approaching. Rookie cornerback Michael Coats Jr. was carted off the field during a recent practice after suffering a leg injury, a troubling development for a defensive backfield that has already absorbed several hits this summer.
Coats had only just been working back from an ankle injury he picked up in the first preseason game, making this his second leg issue in a two-week span. With Damarri Mathis already out for the season and other injuries stacking up in the secondary, Clevelands depth at corner is suddenly looking thin in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Young Talent Could Pay The Price For This QB Decision
Cleveland has settled on Deshaun Watson as its quarterback for the upcoming season, a choice that keeps the Browns locked into a familiar but uneasy conversation about how much the offense can actually grow around him. The concern is not hard to find: Watsons recent performance metrics have raised questions about his completion rate, his ability to push the ball downfield, and how often he ends up taking sacks, all of which shape the environment for everyone around him.
For younger offensive pieces like Denzel Boston, Quinshon Judkins and Spencer Fano, the decision matters because their development depends on steadier quarterback play and cleaner structure up front. The Browns have made changes along the offensive line and on the coaching staff, but those adjustments may still have to fight against the same central issue - whether Watsons limitations leave too many drives stuck in place before the skill players can ever get going. [Read more 🡒]