Browns Announce Deshaun Watson As The Week 10 Starter

Cleveland is returning to Deshaun Watson for the starting quarterback role heading into Week 10’s matchup against the 3-5 Texans, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicated on Monday.

Earlier this week, Head coach Todd Monken declined to tell reporters who would start against Houston following Fowler’s report. Now, the Browns have made that move official, and Watson will face the team that traded him to Cleveland in 2022, which netted the Texans a 2022 1st- and 4th-round pick, a 2023 1st- and 3rd-round pick, and 2024 1st- and 4th-round picks.

This will be the second game that Watson has participated in against his former team, after a 27-14 Browns win in 2022, where Watson went 12-of-22 passes for 131 yards and 1 interception after serving an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior during massage therapy sessions.

With Watson at the helm after clearing concussion protocol, which he did before last week’s game but was inactive regardless, this sends Shedeur Sanders back to the bench after starting in the overtime loss against the Saints. While Monken praised Shedeur, who finished the day going 19-of-31 completions for 297 yards and 2 TDs, Cleveland reverts back to Deshaun.

The Browns will start a four-game home stretch on Sunday, with Deshaun Watson back in the lineup looking for his second win against his former team.