Ryan Fitzpatrick believes Deshaun Watson will fail as Browns QB
The Big Lead · Kyle Koster · 2026-08-28T15:42:18+00:00 · nguồn gốc
The Cleveland Browns have made the decision to give Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback job. It’s a move that no one seems particularly excited about and raised even more eyebrows after the veteran turned his ire on his own fans. Sheduer Sanders will have to await his next opportunity to wrest the No. 1 position away.
Neither Watson or Sanders played in the Browns’ preseason finale Thursday against the New England Patriots but there was ample time for the Amazon Prime broadcast crew to discuss the situation.
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Analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick offered his prediction of how the Browns quarterback room will eventually shake out.
“This is set up here for Shedeur,” he said. “If Deshaun, once he fails, Shedeur’s going to jump into this thing and he’s going to be the guy and this city is going to be behind him.”
Kirk Herbstreit followed up on the commentary by asking Fitzpatrick if it was his belief that Watson would fail.
“Yeah, it’s going to happen,” Fitzpatrick said. “Shedeur’s playing this year, I think all three of these guys, think [Dillon] Gabriel is going to have a chance to play as well.”
It’s not exactly the boldest proclamation. The reason so many people are down on Watson—or one of the reasons—is that his play has simply not been great since the 2020 season. That’s an eternity in the pro football world. And he didn’t exactly tear it up during the preseason.
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Every so often a sports organization goes forward with a plan that feels completely fraught and has minimal support from its fanbase. In this case, Cleveland’s quarterback struggles and Watson’s place in the limelight have made it an even bigger point of focus with most sitting around and waiting for disaster.
Fitzpatrick knows what he’s talking about and one usually doesn’t hear a game commentator be so honest with their opinions during play. So the words definitely raised eyebrows even if he was simply voicing a very popular take.
What’s crazy here is that I think the scenario Fitzpatrick laid out would ultimately be best for both Sanders and the organization. Sanders having the full support of Browns fans and replacing Watson could be just the jolt he needs.
Or we’ll be back here next preseason trying to make sense of another bleak situation under center for the long-suffering Browns.
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