Browns commit to Watson for Week 2: Monken 'anticipates' another start at Tampa Bay
Todd Monken said he anticipates Deshaun Watson starting Sunday at Tampa Bay, citing 'really good things on film' — closing the door, for now, on a quarterback change after the opener
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The loudest question in Cleveland after Sunday's 34-10 loss in Jacksonville has been answered, at least for one week: Deshaun Watson is not coming out of the lineup.
Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter): Browns HC Todd Monken told reporters that he anticipates QB Deshaun Watson will start Sunday at Tampa Bay. Monken said "there were some really good things on film."
Monken told reporters Monday that he anticipates Watson starting Sunday's road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and that "there were some really good things on film" from the opener. The endorsement follows a weekend in which Watson's first start in two years was one to forget — a 16-of-22, 205-yard, one-touchdown, one-interception afternoon against the Jaguars in which 46 of those yards came on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to rookie Denzel Boston with the game already out of reach and Jacksonville's backups in.
Monken defended his quarterback against the pile-on in the immediate aftermath of the loss. "We're putting this on Deshaun which is unfair, OK?" he said Sunday, insisting he could have called a better game and the players around Watson could have played better too. He said Monday there was little internal discussion about making a switch — the tape, not the temperature, decided it.
"I did think that when he had time, when he understood the concepts, he didn't play tentative, that he let it rip," Monken said of the film, pointing to Watson's two throws just before halftime as evidence there was enough to build on.
Watson himself leaned on perspective after the game: "Keep smiling, regardless of who's against me or who's with me."
The stakes of the decision only grow from here. Sunday's opponent is Baker Mayfield's Buccaneers — the quarterback Cleveland famously moved on from in 2022 to acquire Watson — in Tampa's home opener, a storyline the league schedule set up before either team's opener went sideways. Mayfield is coming off a rough night of his own, losing three fumbles in a 33-27 loss to Cincinnati, and both fan bases will be watching this one with more than a little history in mind.
The move also buys Watson exactly one more week. He has now made two starts in two seasons in this offense, and with second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders waiting behind him, Monken's public patience is a bet that continuity beats a reset at 0-1.