Monken starts Watson after bypassing his Browns tape

Watson has started 19 games in Cleveland.

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated Sep 11 min read

Good news: Todd Monken hasn’t watched Deshaun Watson’s tape from the 19 games he’s played for #Browns. Bad news: Todd Via @RuiterWrongFAN on X

What happened: Cleveland named Deshaun Watson its Week 1 starter on Aug. 24. Todd Monken said the choice reflected Watson’s offseason, training camp, preseason games and joint practice work.

Why it matters: The decision puts Watson in charge of Cleveland’s opening-week offense. Monken said the starter designation was not intended as a week-to-week call.

By the numbers: Watson has completed 341 of 557 passes for 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns in his 19 Browns starts.

What to watch: Watch how Watson performs once the regular season opens and whether Monken maintains the same quarterback plan.

Sources

@RuiterWrongFAN 2026-09-01T19:31:33.711345+00:00

CONVERSATION

Loading comments…

NFLAnalysisCleveland BrownsDeshaun Watson

Follow NFL Intelligence

Real-time signals and analysis

@WireReportNFL

WR Pro

The day's sports, briefed to your inbox at 7am ET. Every claim sourced.

$9/month Free weekly newsletter →