{"id":2305,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/2305","headline":"Browns hand QB job back to Watson despite Sanders' strong outing","dek":"Watson reclaims the start against his former team after clearing concussion protocol, even though Sanders threw for 297 yards and two scores in a loss to the Saints.","body":"Todd Monken confirmed Wednesday what he wouldn't say on Monday: Deshaun Watson is back under center for Cleveland's Week 10 matchup with Houston, his former team. Watson missed last week's game after sitting out practice time in concussion protocol, opening the door for Shedeur Sanders to make his first start of the season.\n\nSanders didn't exactly stumble through the opportunity. He went 19-for-31 for 297 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-22 overtime loss to the Saints, numbers that would normally make a coach think twice. Monken didn't think twice. He pointed to Watson's body of work over the team's previous eight games as justification, saying Watson \"played pretty well\" and that handing the job back was his intention all along, pending a conversation with his staff.\n\nAdding some noise to the decision, CBS Sports' A.J. Ross reported that during game-planning, Monken asked Sanders which plays he felt most comfortable running for the opening drive, and Sanders reportedly suggested plays that raised eyebrows among observers. The report has fueled fresh doubt about Sanders' readiness to lead a franchise, even after a performance that kept Cleveland in a one-score game into overtime.\n\nWatson starts Sunday against the Texans.","published_at":"2026-11-12T00:33:00.666659+00:00","source_count":3,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"'I pray to God it's not true': Analyst can't believe Shedeur Sanders report","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pray-god-not-true-analyst-230032798.html"},{"outlet":"Awful Announcing","publisher":"Awful Announcing","title":"Cleveland radio host is ‘done’ with Shedeur Sanders following CBS report","url":"https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/browns-shedeur-sanders-colin-cowherd-ken-carman-cbs.html"},{"outlet":"Pro Football Talk","publisher":"NBC Sports","title":"Todd Monken: I intend for Deshaun Watson being our starting QB","url":"https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/todd-monken-i-intend-for-deshaun-watson-being-our-starting-qb"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Browns QB Shedeur Sanders suggested as a trade target to fix contenders’ big problem","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/browns-qb-shedeur-sanders-suggested-132941590.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Crazy’ – Stephen A. Smith spotted huge Shedeur Sanders ‘problem’ in the Browns’ loss","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/crazy-stephen-smith-spotted-huge-133000950.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Browns Unveil Shedeur Sanders Depth Chart Decision","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/browns-unveil-shedeur-sanders-depth-123650286.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders? Browns starting QB plan now official","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/deshaun-watson-shedeur-sanders-reports-140146277.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Shedeur Sanders get brutal assessment from ESPN analyst on odds to take Browns QB job","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/shedeur-sanders-brutal-assessment-espn-161401890.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Todd Monken: I intend for Deshaun Watson being our starting QB","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/todd-monken-intend-deshaun-watson-173804161.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Cleveland Browns 2027 mock draft: Help on defense and finally a QB","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cleveland-browns-2027-mock-draft-230033726.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Browns Predicted to Go Through Another Quarterback Shakeup","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/browns-predicted-another-quarterback-shakeup-233131448.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://nbcsports.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d0bb75c/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1920x1080!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhdliveextra-a.akamaihd.net%2FHD%2Fimage_sports%2FNBCU_Sports_Group_-_nbcsports%2F131%2F75%2Fnbc_pft_browns_261110.jpg","credit":"Pro Football Talk","width":1920},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}