Browns tab Deshaun Watson, not Shedeur Sanders, as QB1 - ESPN

BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson will open the season as the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback, coach Todd Monken announced Monday.

Watson, 30, emerged as the starter in a competition with second-year player Shedeur Sanders that began in the offseason workout program and stretched into the first two preseason games.

Monken said the decision to start Watson will not be a «week-to-week» proposition.

The Browns face the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road in Week 1.

The decision comes despite Watson's struggles in the second preseason game Saturday, during which he completed 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards and one interception over four second-half drives. Watson was also met with boos in his first home game since recovering from a torn Achilles, a reaction that he called «disrespectful.» Sanders started Saturday's game after Watson started the Browns' preseason opener against the Chicago Bears.

Of the 50 quarterbacks with at least 15 starts since Deshaun Watson joined the Browns in 2022, only Will Levis has a lower Total QBR.

The seats at Huntington Bank Field were half-full, but the boos were pronounced when Watson took the field at the beginning of the second half and as he struggled.

«I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance,» Watson said. «It's a little bit [more] personal than that. So I think it's a disrespectful thing. So yeah, I mean, I'm going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. And yeah, just move on.»

Monken said Sunday that Watson's comments would not factor into his decision.

«He emptied his heart a little bit, and I don't think that says who he is,» Monken said Sunday. «I see the competitor in him. I see the every-day work he puts in,