Shedeur Sanders blow after Browns owner’s U-turn on quarterback room, ‘Big swing and miss’

Jimmy Haslam appeared to have closed the door on Deshaun Watson’s time as a Cleveland Brown when he called him ‘a big swing and miss’ in 2025.

The $230 million quarterback is fighting with fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders for a starting spot under new coach Todd Monken.

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It was believed that Watson would be seeking pastures new when the Browns can finally get out of his contract in 2027 whatever the outcome

That would have handed Sanders a huge advantage as Cleveland would surely have opted for a man with a future on the team if the race was close.

Haslam, however, has done an about turn and opened the door for Watson to earn himself another deal.

“I think there are all kinds of possibilities out there — so, yes,” said the Browns owner when asked about the possibility. “But here again, we’ve got to get through practice.

“I think our quarterbacks will play in the exhibition games, that’s obviously [coach] Todd’s call, and then Todd will figure out who’s going to start.”

Watson’s fully-guaranteed contract has been an unmitigated disaster, but if he can turn a promising young group of offensive skill players into a decent unit, the Browns could rise a strong defense into wins.

It has been six years since we saw the best version of the passer in Houston.

There are plenty of question marks, especially after he missed last season with a torn Achilles, but the NFL is a business and Haslam is wise to keep his options open.

Sanders began camp as the underdog to start in Week 1 but could force his way into the QB1 jersey with a strong preseason.

The Browns deployed three QBs in 2025, so this competition is not going away any time soon.

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Deshaun Watson adamant he loves Cleveland

Watson reportedly didn’t want to come to Cleveland in the first place with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints also in the mix.

His unprecedented contract soon changed that, however, and the other three teams must have breathed a sigh of relief.

Since then, poor performances, off-field noise, and an inability to stay healthy have created animosity.

The former Texans star insists there is no bad blood from his perspective.

“When I first got here, there was a lot of stuff going on, as the world knows,” he said. “But I don’t have any bad feelings toward Cleveland.

“I love Cleveland. Me and my wife have our house on the east side, so we’re here all the time. We were here this summer.

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“If you ask around, I’m at pretty much all the restaurants, hanging out, so I haven’t had a bad experience outside of different times in the stadium.

“I don’t know why that narrative is out there that people think that I don’t like Cleveland. My family and I have been enjoying our time here, if the opportunity shows up, we’ll see where it goes.”

The Browns face the Chicago Bears to begin preseason on August 15 and all eyes will be on the snap counts under center.

Haslam is bullish about the campaign ahead.

“I think the odds are for us to win 5.5 games. I’ll take the over,” he said at training camp.