Insider repeats Browns' long-term plans for Deshaun Watson amid competition with Shedeur Sanders

A recent update suggested that the Cleveland Browns plan to part ways with veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson after the 2026 season, to the point that Watson likely can't do anything to earn another contract from the club if he outperforms 2025 rookie Shedeur Sanders from the start of training camp through Week 18 of the campaign. 

As much as it seems that people within the Browns want Cleveland fans to know that Watson could enter September atop the club's depth chart, it also appears those individuals have made it clear that Watson has no long-term future with the franchise. 

Why the Browns will be ready to move on from Deshaun Watson in 2027

"I do not think there's a world in which Watson plays well enough this season to convince the Browns to re-sign him and move forward with him as their franchise QB of the future," ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano wrote for an article published on Tuesday. "He turns 31 in September. The contract has been a complete catastrophe in every possible way. And the team's owner has admitted as much publicly."

Graziano was referencing how Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam said last offseason that the team "took a big swing and miss" when it acquired Watson from the Houston Texans and then signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022. Watson has made just 19 total regular-season starts for the Browns, and he is trying to resurrect his career after he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in October 2024 and then missed all of last season because he tore the Achilles tendon again during his recovery. 

That said, Haslam sang a different tune when he said this past March that Watson "has a great chance" to win the Cleveland QB1 gig later this summer. Such comments make sense if only because Haslam has millions of reasons to want to get something out of the signal-caller. 

Why the Browns didn't just cut Deshaun Watson before the start of the current league year

"Watson is on the Browns right now because it wouldn't make sense otherwise, and if they can get something useful out of him before this miserable chapter of their history comes to an end, great," Graziano added. "Everyone is looking at the 2027 draft for quarterbacks, and I believe the Browns are one of the teams most interested in finding their long-term answer next April. But cutting Watson simply wouldn't do them any good. They've come this far and paid him all this money. Cleveland might as well see the thing through -- and see whether he can do something to help before it's over."

The 2027 draft class is expected to be loaded with promising quarterbacks. However, Sanders could give Haslam and Co. something to think about if the second-year pro defeats Watson in the battle for the starting job and then plays well for Cleveland through January.