The Cleveland Browns made their quarterback decision entering the 2026 NFL season, but football fans are still trying to process why Deshaun Watson is getting the Week 1 start against the Jacksonville Jaguars over Shedeur Sanders.
The decision by first-year head coach Todd Monken may have answered the question on everyone’s mind for the Browns this preseason, but the debate still rages on throughout the football world considering Watson’s track record in Cleveland and how the $230 million man hasn’t lived up to his contract in the slightest.
In fact, fans booed Watson during their home preseason against the Buffalo Bills, to which he called them “disrespectful” and “personal” rather than a reaction to his performance on the field.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field on Oct. 20, 2024. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)
Either way, Watson heads into the new campaign – his first regular-season play since tearing his Achilles in 2024 – with an immense amount of pressure. However, one former NFL star believes the leash will be quite tight for the veteran signal caller.
Maybe to the point where he doesn’t start under center come Week 3 – the Browns’ home opener against the Carolina Panthers.
“If they start the season 0-2 – you open with the Jaguars. Then, you have Tampa Bay, then you come home. I’m not sure you play the third game, but you’d have to start that season off either 1-1 or 2-0. Either 1-1 or 2-0. One or the other. If you start off 0-2, they’re making a move. They’re making a move before the season gets too far away from them,” Chad Ochocinco told OutKick in a recent interview while highlighting his partnership with DraftKings ahead of this NFL season.
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Ochocinco has been very vocal about the Browns’ quarterback conundrum on his “Nightcap” podcast with Shannon Sharpe, where he’s noted on numerous occasions that there was never really a position battle between Watson, Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and anyone else on the quarterbacks’ depth chart.
“It was never a quarterback competition. It never was. At no point in any game is the $46 million man competing for a job and would lose to the younger player based on salary,” Ochocinco said. “As an owner and person writing the check, Deshaun Watson was always going to be the starting quarterback no matter what. Now, it’s his job to lose now going forward, and his leash is going to be very short.”
From the fan perspective, Ochocinco also understands why the Browns faithful feel the way they do about Watson.
Since he came over in a now-infamous trade with the Houston Texans, Watson, who was given a whopping $230 million, fully guaranteed contract over five years, has started just 19 games across three seasons, with injuries and his lengthy 11-game NFL suspension coming in 2022. In those games, the Browns have gone 9-10, including the most recent in 2024 where he went 1-6. Watson has thrown 19 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions, competing 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards and a passer rating of 80.7.
For comparison there, in his four years with the Texans, where he earned three Pro Bowls and led the NFL with 4,823 yards in 2020, he had a passer rating of 104.5.
Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nev. (Chris Unger/Getty Images)
“The fans are upset, the fans are booing because they have nothing to cheer for,” Ochocinco said. “You haven’t given them anything to cheer for in general. So, the bad taste that’s left in their mouths are the issues that came with you from Houston on top of coming here to Cleveland. You’ve given them nothing to cheer for, therefore that’s why they’re gonna feel the way they feel.”
So, what do Watson and the Browns do if even their home crowd seems to be against the most important player on the field for them come Week 1? As the saying goes, the shortest way through a storm is straight.
Watson is going to have to face the music, and Ochocinco is hoping he can do it.
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“But one thing can happen: performing and winning cures all,” he said. “Listen, they come out the gate, somehow find a way to beat Jacksonville, find a way to beat Tampa, and you go into Cleveland the first home game 2-0. Man, they will cheer their a—off. You’re gonna hear cheering and eruptions of cheering for Deshaun that he’s never heard before. Honestly, I’m hoping he does.
“Winning cures all. It doesn’t matter what you did. You’re the quarterback of their team. If you start out the gate 1-1 at best – 2-0 best scenario – they’re going to love you in Cleveland despite what you’ve done. They’ll love you because you’re winning – something they haven’t had consistently for a very long time.”
It will be a tough task for Watson and the Browns to get those wins against playoff hopefuls in Weeks 1 and 2. But Ochocinco sees no other way for Watson to hang on to his job even if it is just the start of a new campaign.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field on Sept. 7, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
OCHO LOVES DRAFTKINGS GAMEDAY
College football is already underway, and the NFL is right around the corner, which has Ochocinco very excited about football being back. Also, he’s excited to impact the fan experience with DraftKings.
“DraftKings Gameday,” which will take place on Sept. 2, was announced on Monday with quite the activation as it celebrates the first football season with DraftKings Sports & Casino available in all 50 states. As a way to fuel fans with the return of football, DraftKings will be offering free gas, while supplies last, to passenger vehicles at select gas stations in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Detroit. Specific locations and event times will be announced separately.
“For me, I think it’s fun because who else would do something like this outside of DraftKings. This is a great touch for NFL fans to start the season,” Ochocinco said. “We’re giving you free gas, so when your respective team plays, you’re fueled up to go. And word of mouth will be, ‘You won’t believe this? You know what DraftKings did? I was able to save money and get tickets to go to a game because they paid for my gas.’ That makes sense.”
Former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco Johnson looks on before the game between the Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Oct. 5, 2025. (Getty Images)
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There will also be exclusive DraftKings Gameday promotions for customers, a customized in-app experience, in-person activations, a charitable donation through the DraftKings SERVES program, and a new campaign featuring Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas this season.
“It’s all about the fan experience, so some of the offers and luxuries throughout the season is what sets us apart from everybody else. I’m happy to be a part of them,” Ochocinco said.
