After a weekend full of questions about QB Deshaun Watson having any future in the NFL at all, including a look at the salary cap issues
if the Cleveland Browns released him, HC Todd Monken will reportedly name Watson the starting quarterback for 2026 over QB Shedeur Sanders.Monken will get up in front of the media on Monday and explain his decision, noting things, as GM Andrew Berry has done previously, about “production” and “giving us the best chance to win.” The Browns head coach will say nice
things about Sanders and him making the competition tight throughout the process. The Cleveland beat reporters will try to get Monken to narrow down what specific things led to the decision.
Whether the “straight-shooting” coach gives answers that make sense and that we believe will be interesting to find out.
Below is a list of potential reasons the Browns picked Watson over Sanders. Some are serious, and some are very much trying to make light of a situation that has most fans ready to pack it up for the season before the third preseason game even kicks off. (Of note to this author, Watson has been, and could be again, the only reason Cleveland fans have stopped caring about the team. Not The Move, the winless season, or the 1-win season, or every other terrible decision- just Watson: acquiring/paying him, his performance, and now him being named the starter).
On to the list:
- Cadence
- Getting plays in and out of the huddle quickly
- Unlocking the QB run game
- Collecting more contract insurance if he’s injured again
- Tie goes to the veteran
- Tie goes to the biggest contract
- They have a good trade offer for Sanders and plan to take it
- Easier to go from veteran to youngster than vice versa
- Sanders is lacking/not doing something really important behind the scenes
- Owner Jimmy Haslam, who went to Watson’s wedding, said so
- Since The Move, it’s been one big psyop to see how much it would actually take to ruin the greatest fanbase in the world
- They want to lose as many games as possible, and starting Watson could help and help ruin Sanders’ confidence for when he does get in
- Rock-bottoming the fans’ hope so that the resurgence feels even bigger in time for opening the dome
- They don’t care one bit what fans think (Generally, I’m on board with this, but that press conference…)
- Watson has a stronger arm
- They want less risky throws, prefer dink-and-dunk
- They flipped a coin
- Deion Sanders said something Monken didn’t like when he visited Berea
- Sunk cost fallacy isn’t a fallacy; it’s a market inefficiency
- Someone lost a bet
- “This is all a simulation, nothing really matters, eat at Arby’s” – SB Nation’s Mark Schofield
- Someone won a bet
- “There are 50,000 Deshaun Watson bobbleheads in a bunker they need to get rid of” – SB Nation’s James Dator
- They had already decided when they hired Monken, and maybe it was part of the decision to hire him that he would agree to Watson starting
- They can’t read the room
- They don’t believe they should read the room
- Watson has been great in the meeting room
- Sanders deferred to Watson to start the season
- 2 road games to start the season will either lead to Watson’s benching, or he’ll look good enough that fans might cheer in Week 3
- NFL stepped in and said, “We want Watson versus Baker in Week 2”
- They believe Watson is the quarterback who can win games and do not believe Sanders is that close
Again, some tongue in cheek, some humor to get through the process, and some actual reasons the Browns might have made this decision.
Now it is your turn…
Share your ideas about why the Browns picked Watson over Sanders (just don’t forget the community guidelines, please)
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