Deshaun Watson will start the Browns’ preseason opener

Deshaun Watson is the first man up for the Browns.

The team announced on Wednesday afternoon that Watson will start at quarterback against the Bears in the team’s preseason opener on Saturday. Head coach Todd Monken declined to make an announcement regarding Watson and Shedeur Sanders earlier in the day, but said that the starter will play the first half of the game and that the other quarterback would also play. Sanders is now set to start the team’s second preseason game against the Bills on August 22 as well.

It will be Watson’s first game action of any kind since he tore his Achilles during the 2024 season.

“I’m super excited,” Watson said on Wednesday, via the team’s website. “All the hard work that I put in with the training staff, with my team, my personal team, to get to this stage has been tremendous for me. So, I’m super excited for those opportunities and can’t wait for it.”

Watson and Sanders have split reps with the first team throughout training camp and Monken has not set a date for the competition to come to an end. Given the current plan for preseason work, it will be some time before the Browns know who will be getting the start in Week 1.