Dillon Gabriel set for Browns snub while Shedeur Sanders faces uphill battle vs $230m star

Deshaun Watson is ramping up his workouts as he bids to make a huge return to the NFL in 2026.

The Cleveland Browns quarterback missed the last 10 weeks of the 2024 NFL season and was forced to sit out of the entirety of the 2025 campaign due to suffering back-to-back Achilles tendon ruptures.

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But a clip emerged on social media on Wednesday showing the three-time Pro Bowler having already begun his offseason training.

Watson signed a five-year $230 million fully guaranteed deal with the Browns back in 2022 after being traded by the Houston Texans.

In three seasons as a member of the Dawg Pound, he has made just 19 appearances under center, completing just 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Due to his mired injury history, as well as his off-the-field controversies which saw him handed a 11-game suspension and a $5 million fine for sexual misconduct in 2022, Watson’s contract is largely regarded as the worst in NFL history.

But in 2026, and now in a contract year, the former Clemson star is hoping to earn back and cement his role as Cleveland’s QB1.

As it stands, all signs point to it being a straight shoot-out between Watson and Shedeur Sanders for the role, with Cleveland set to snub Dillon Gabriel from contention, according to Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot.

“It’s not a great year, once again, to be needing a quarterback, and unless they have something up their sleeve that we do not know about, I think that they are potentially going to be looking at Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders,” Cabot revealed on Tuesday.

“They’re going to leave no stone unturned, and they are going to look for quarterbacks either in the draft, free agency, or a trade, so it’s not over yet.

“We don’t know exactly what that quarterback room is going to look like yet.”

Although Gabriel initially received the starting nod after 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco was benched – then traded – the rookie signal caller would start just six games, winning only once.

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He completed just 59.5 percent of his passes for 937 yards and seven touchdowns, while also firing two interceptions.

After suffering a concussion in Week 11, Sanders assumed the starting role, and kept Gabriel off the field from that point onward, and has earned the right for his name to be in the conversation to start next season.

In eight games under center in 2025 – seven starts – Sanders posted 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns to 10 interceptions, finishing his rookie campaign with a 3-4 record.

This was enough, however, to earn his first Pro Bowl honors, much to the dismay of many around the league.

New dog in town

Next season will look a lot different in Cleveland regardless of who earns the starting quarterback role after Kevin Stefanski was one of the victims of NFL’s ‘Black Monday’.

After a thorough search – which saw many candidates withdraw their name from contention – the Browns announced former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as their new head coach in January.

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Now Watson, Sanders, and to some extent Gabriel, will have to battle it out to impress the ‘openminded’ Monken, who also hasn’t closed the door on using their first-round drafts pick to search for a new quarterback.

“With a new HC in place and so much uncertainty at QB, it’s not surprising that Watson is in play for QB1,” Pro Football Sports Network’s Caleb Yaccarino wrote.

“Time will tell if the Browns end up going in the trade market, free agency, or the NFL Draft for another QB option, but if Monken wants all the options going into the preseason, the Browns should add at least one more QB to fight for the starting spot.”

This view is echoed by Cabot, who, in an appearance on 92.3 The Fan back in January, detailed Watson’s realistic chances of earning his starting role back.

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“So, he knows what Deshaun Watson is capable of when healthy. And we also know this about Todd Monken: he’s all about the mobile dual-threat QB,” she said.

“Can Deshaun even run anymore like that, coming off of two ruptured achilles? We don’t know, but he will have a chance to show what he can do.”

Only time will tell on whether the Browns will make the selection from their current roster, or whether they will turn to external avenues to find a quarterback they believe will be the long-term future of the organization.

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