Deshaun Watson’s 2026 Season Could Be His Final Chance

In March of 2022, the Browns gave up a 2022 first- and fourth-round pick, a 2023 first- and third-round pick, and a 2024 first-round pick along with a fourth-round pick to the Houston Texans. Cleveland, in return, received Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick. They also signed Watson to a huge deal of five years with $230 million, with money being fully guaranteed.

Had the Browns given up just half of that king’s ransom, it would have still been considered a bad trade. That is how bad Watson has been for this franchise. The decline in his play was apparent from the opening season in Cleveland.

In 2022, Watson played just six games and had seven touchdowns and five interceptions with a 58.2% completion percentage. The veteran only played six games because he was suspended for the first 11 games due to the sexual misconduct accusation. Watson went 3-3 as a starter and looked shaky, but many fans chalked it up to rust, as he didn’t play in the 2021 NFL season. 

In 2023, Watson played a little bit better. In six games, seven touchdowns and four interceptions with a 61.4% completion rate. The quarterback was better than what he produced in 2022 but not close to what he was in Houston. The quarterback suffered a shoulder fracture in week 10, which ended his season. 

The 2024 season was unfortunately not much different. Watson played just seven games and had five touchdowns and three interceptions with a 63.4% completion percentage. Watson’s season ended with a ruptured Achilles in week seven against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 2025 season featured no starts by Watson as he was nursing the Achilles injury, and Cleveland was looking to see what they had in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Overall, in four NFL seasons as a Brown, he started just 19 games. That is barely above one regular season’s worth of games. 

That wouldn’t be a good showing for a QB that was making $5 million per year let alone $230 million, so Watson’s 2026 season has to prove a lot. All the signs point to Watson’s career being done after this season ends. That makes Watson’s 2026 season the biggest moment of his career by far. 

End Of My Deshaun Watson’s 2026 Season Rant

There’s no sugarcoating how Watson’s 2026 season could go. The veteran could either buy himself one more year in the league with the Browns or another team, or his career ends once Sanders steps foot on that field. 

Even if Watson doesn’t work out in Cleveland, the market could be extremely limited because of his on-field struggles and off-field baggage. The poor play, coupled with the off-field issues, creates a tough combination that no NFL team would likely want to endure.

When the 30-year-old suffered that season-ending Achilles injury, fans cheered. That is certainly an out-of-bounds thing to do, but it just shows his stature in the league today.

To make matters even worse, former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has revitalized his career as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Watson was essentially shipped out and given up on because Cleveland thought that they would be upgrading at quarterback. Little did the franchise know that the player they gave away to the Buccaneers was arguably their greatest quarterback in modern history. 

For Watson’s 2026 season, it’s not about reverting back to what he was in Houston. It’s about proving that he can still be a starting-caliber quarterback.

How do you think Watson’s 2026 season will go? Does he have any chance to extend his career?