BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken said Monday that he expects Deshaun Watson to remain as the team's starting quarterback this Sunday at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Monken had sidestepped a question after the Browns' season-opening 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars about whether he would stick with Watson as the starter. Monken, though, said that it would be "unfair" to blame the veteran quarterback for all the struggles on offense.
Asked Monday whether he had decided on who would start in Week 2, Monken said, "I anticipate Deshaun will be our starter."
Watson finished 16-of-22 for 205 yards against the Jaguars with a touchdown, an interception and 38 rushing yards.
Monken said that after watching the film, it confirmed to him that Watson should continue as the starter.
"It's only been two weeks he's gotten all the reps. And there were some really good things on film," Monken said. "Some things that you can build on, and there were some others that operationally we got to get better at. ...
"I did think that when he had time, when he understood the concepts, he didn't play tentative, that he let it rip. ... I'd like to see how we could build on that. I liked his week of practice last week, and I think he's only going to continue to get better."
The Browns trailed 24-0 at halftime, tying their worst halftime shutout in the past 35 years, according to ESPN Research. Through two quarters, Cleveland had only five first downs on six drives and were 0-for-4 on third down.
Watson, who turned 31 on Monday, was playing his first regular-season game in 693 days. He missed the entirety of the 2025 season after tearing his Achilles in October 2024 and then re-tearing his Achilles in January 2025. Monken named Watson the team's starting quarterback on Aug. 24 after a training camp competition with Shedeur Sanders -- two days after Watson struggled in the second half of a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills and then called Browns fans who booed him disrespectful.
Since joining the Browns via trade in March 2022 and receiving a five-year, $230 million contract that is fully guaranteed, Watson has the lowest QBR in the NFL (33.1) among 50 quarterbacks with at least 15 starts, only above Will Levis. Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans, is 9-11 as a starter with the Browns.
"We got to play better around him," Monken said. "We got to call it better, and he's got to play better. Our inability to function consistently as an offense was a byproduct of we, coaching and playing."