As former Clemson star Deshaun Watson competes with second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders for the Cleveland Browns’ starting job, the veteran signal-caller has earned a less desirable designation heading into the 2026 season.
Watson was selected as the starting quarterback for CBS Sports’ 2026 NFL “All-Overpaid Team,” with writer Garrett Podell labeling Watson’s deal as the “worst contract in NFL history.”
Entering the final season of his five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract signed in March 2022, Watson arrived in Cleveland following a trade with the Houston Texans that cost the Browns three first-round draft picks alongside additional draft assets.
Evaluating Watson’s tenure, Podell highlighted the deal’s cost relative to on-field availability and performance metrics.
“The high-level play in Houston that enticed Cleveland to make that deal occurred before his off-field legal issues surfaced, resulting in a league-issued suspension that kept him out for the entire 2021 season and the first 11 games of 2022,” Podell wrote. “When he’s played in his limited 19-start tenure as the Browns’ starting quarterback, he’s been one of the NFL’s worst, ranking in the bottom five in the NFL in multiple efficiency metrics among the 50 quarterbacks who have thrown 500-plus passes since 2022.”
Podell noted that Cleveland has paid Watson $9.6 million per start over the length of the agreement, totaling $183 million in cash earned across 19 starts. In those 19 games, Watson completed 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
Injuries and Recent Action
Watson’s limited action in Cleveland includes six starts in 2022 following his suspension, six in 2023, seven in 2024, and zero in 2025 after undergoing two surgeries to repair a re-torn Achilles tendon.
Watson made his return to live game action during Cleveland’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15. Playing the first half, he completed 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards while directing two scoring drives before Sanders entered the game in the third quarter.
Browns head coach Todd Monken praised Watson’s return to play following the contest.
“It was awesome,” Monken said via ESPN. “It was so cool to watch him play. I get all of the frustration by fans, himself. But for him to come back and work like he did is an unbelievable credit to him. And then to go out there, he was having fun today. And that is so cool.”
Quarterback Battle and Season Outlook
Monken set a rotated order for Cleveland’s second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, scheduling Sanders to start the first half and Watson to enter for the second half. Monken has not yet named a regular-season Week 1 starter.
Across 73 career NFL games with Houston and Cleveland since being selected 12th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watson holds a 66.2% completion rate for 17,904 passing yards, 123 touchdowns, and 48 interceptions.
