Browns Hand the Job Back to Deshaun Watson for His Houston Reunion After Shedeur Sanders' Near-Miss

The Cleveland Browns have settled their quarterback question before it could turn into a controversy. Head coach Todd Monken has named Deshaun Watson his starter for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, putting the veteran back under center one week after a concussion kept him out and Shedeur Sanders nearly pulled off a road win in New Orleans.

Sanders made the most of his chance. In his first start of the season, he completed 19 of 31 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. His fourth-quarter strike to KC Concepcion covered 64 yards, and his 39-yard catch-and-run score to Harold Fannin Jr. in overtime pulled Cleveland within a point, but the two-point try to Denzel Boston fell incomplete under pressure and the Saints held on 23-22. The loss dropped the Browns to 5-4 and extended a two-game skid.

Monken made clear the decision was not a verdict on Sanders. He said flatly, "I had no intention of Deshaun not being our starter," and argued that Watson had played well enough before the injury to keep the job. He also told reporters he wanted to run the decision past his staff before saying it publicly, and that the final call on the quarterback is his to make.

In eight starts, Watson has completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 1,806 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions, good for a 91.2 passer rating, and he has added 217 rushing yards and a score on 51 carries. Cleveland is 5-3 with him in the lineup, and Cleveland.com reported he ranks second in the NFL with five fourth-quarter game-winning drives.

The Akron Beacon Journal reported that Watson's concussion traced back to the previous week's loss at Pittsburgh, and that Monken said Watson had "worked awfully hard to get back" to the field. Watson was held out of the New Orleans game while working through the league's concussion protocol, according to Newsweek.

Monken was generous toward Sanders, too. He credited the young passer with tying the game late in regulation and with the overtime touchdown, and he pointed out how little first-team work Sanders had going in: "It's been 10 weeks since he had reps with the ones".

Watson kept his own comments short and steady. "My job is to come in and win the day," he said, adding that he never doubted he would get the job back and leaving questions about the rest of the season to Monken and the front office.

Sunday is more than another game on the schedule for Watson. It will be only his second start against Houston since the Texans traded him to Cleveland in 2022 for three first-round picks, Cleveland.com noted. The first ended in a 27-14 loss in which he completed 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards.

The matchup is a dangerous one for a quarterback who has been hit more than anyone in football. Watson has been sacked 33 times, the most in the NFL and two more than Justin Herbert, and Newsweek noted he has gone down eight times in two separate games this season. Houston's defense is tied with Minnesota for the league lead with 29 sacks, and after an 0-4 start the Texans have won three of their last four.

There is an opening for Cleveland through the air, however. The Texans rank 27th in the league against the pass, allowing 235.6 yards per game, and 13th against the run. On the other side, Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud has thrown 10 touchdown passes and only two interceptions over his last three games.

The decision carries weight beyond one Sunday. OutKick noted that 2026 is the final season of Watson's five-year, $230 million contract, a deal the outlet said the team has all but admitted it regrets. Newsweek observed that Monken stopped short of naming Watson the starter for the rest of the year, with the coach saying he does not look at the position week to week or long term.

Sanders' path has been anything but easy. He slid to the fifth round of last year's draft, OutKick reported, and Newsweek noted he started seven games last season while Watson recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Darnell's take: There is something old-fashioned, and right, about this call. A starter who has his team at 5-3 in his games does not lose his job because he got hurt. Locker rooms are held together by coaches who keep their word, and Monken kept his. He did it without tearing down the young man who stepped in.

That does not take anything away from Sanders. He waited his turn, prepared like a starter while taking backup reps, and nearly won a road game on short notice. Patience and preparation like that tend to get rewarded, and his next opportunity will come.

For now the job belongs to Watson, and the test is protection. If Cleveland's line can keep him upright against the league's most dangerous pass rush, the Browns have a real chance to snap their skid against the team that sent him north four years ago.