Browns OC Travis Switzer remains confident in Deshaun Watson

Pockets of Cleveland Browns fans remain downright baffled that first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken named veteran Deshaun Watson the team's Week 1 starting quarterback over second-year pro Shedeur Sanders back in August. 

Monken confirmed that decision shortly after Watson failed to impress in Cleveland's 31-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, first-year Browns offensive coordinator Travis Switzer explained why he is confident that Watson's best days in the current Cleveland offense are ahead of him. 

Browns confident Deshaun Watson will get "more comfortable" as QB1

Per the Browns' website, Switzer said that Watson has shown "more comfort with the guys that he’s out there with, and then also with what we’re doing" throughout the summer. 

"He repeats things in meetings, and it’s like, 'Hey, you remember this?' And there’s more recall now, which is good," Switzer said about Watson. "That’s a good feeling. You feel like everybody’s kind of picking up what you’re putting down, as far as what you’re trying to do and where you’re attacking people. But yeah, the longer that he’s with us, he’s just going to keep getting more and more comfortable and more familiar with what we’re doing, and that’s going to be good for the whole operation."

Whether or not Watson feeling a certain level of "comfort" will result in the 30-year-old being more willing to push the ball downfield could determine how long he stays in the lineup. Browns fans who are displeased with Monken expect this experiment to end poorly, and some think Watson is on a relatively short leash. 

Watson is expected to start Cleveland's game at the Jacksonville Jaguars this coming Sunday and the Week 2 matchup at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 20. However, some are convinced Monken will turn to Sanders for Cleveland's home opener, a Week 3 game against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 27, if the Browns fall to 0-2 in Tampa. 

Browns banking on Deshaun Watson's experience

Watson hasn't played in a competitive NFL game since he suffered the first of what became two Achilles injuries in October 2024. That said, he has been in the league since the Houston Texans selected him in the first round of the 2017 draft, and he earned three Pro Bowl selections during his Houston tenure. 

"He’s been around a long time," Switzer added about Watson. "He’s seen a lot of things. [The Jaguars' defense is] probably not going to show a whole lot of things that he hasn’t seen, or at least it’s in a world that he’s seen. So yeah, that’s a huge piece of it, and we feel good about that."

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Browns as 8.5-point road underdogs against the Jaguars.