The Browns are moving back to Deshaun Watson for Week 10, pushing Shedeur Sanders down the quarterback depth chart after his strong showing in his lone start.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Cleveland will start Watson on Sunday against the Houston Texans. Cabot reported Wednesday morning, "Breaking: Deshaun Watson will start Sunday vs. the Texans over Shedeur Sanders,"
That lines up with earlier reporting that pointed toward Watson reclaiming the job once he was available again. Sanders had gotten the Week 9 start against the New Orleans Saints and came close to helping Cleveland pull off another late comeback, but the Browns still lost on the road in his only start of 2026.
Sanders made the most of the opportunity, finishing 19 of 31 for 297 yards and two touchdowns. One of those scores came on a 64-yard connection with rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion.
Watson, meanwhile, has not put together a game that matches Sanders’ Week 9 production this season. His best yardage outings are better than Sanders’s, but he has not thrown a passing touchdown in those games, and his two-touchdown performances have come with fewer passing yards.
Even with Sanders flashing in Week 9, the Browns are sticking with Watson, a move that fits the usual pattern for a team returning to a starter who missed time because of injury. Watson sat out Week 9 with a concussion, and Todd Monken was never likely to keep Sanders in the lineup once Watson was cleared.
For Cleveland, the upside is simple: Sanders has shown enough to give the team confidence if Watson struggles, or if injury forces another change. For now, though, Watson is back on top, and Sanders goes back to QB2 heading into the Week 10 matchup with Houston.
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