Deshaun Watson off to slow start with QB competition underway at Browns training camp

The Cleveland Browns have opened training camp by making significant commitments to two of their best players.

The team’s first practice served as a reminder of previous money the Browns spent — and didn’t necessarily spend wisely. The quarterback competition is underway, and Deshaun Watson was mostly dreadful as the first passer up with the No. 1 offense on Wednesday.

Watson, who hasn’t played since October 2024 while rehabbing a twice-torn right Achilles tendon, is competing for the job and trying to revive his career ahead of the final season of the five-year, $230 million contract the Browns gave him in 2022. And though no one really expected the offense being installed by new coach Todd Monken to deliver fireworks on the first day of camp, Watson mostly produced interceptions and misses.

Second-year player Shedeur Sanders will take his turn with the No. 1 offense on Thursday.

On the news front, defensive backs Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit reached agreements on extensions in the hours before Wednesday’s first practice. In Delpit’s case, the agreement was reported after practice officially began.

Ward and Delpit sat out the spring in hopes of getting clarity and security on their respective football futures. Now they know they’ll continue as Cleveland’s longest-tenured players. Delpit previously was only signed through 2026, and both players faced some level of uncertainty after the Browns traded two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in June.

The 2026 Browns figure to be one of the league’s youngest teams. The defense will likely again be much better than the remade offense — especially early in the season, and understandably more in camp. But the Browns clearly are banking on their defense and want Ward, 29, and Delpit, who turns 28 in September, to be part of things for more than just an uncertain season ahead.

An early look at Watson vs. Sanders

Watson was intercepted on consecutive plays in the first full-speed team drill, the first by Ward and then by Damarri Mathis, one of the team’s most recent additions. Ward closed on a pass that was thrown on a designed rollout, while Mathis made a sliding interception after Watson appeared to improvise while attempting to avoid a rush.

Watson might have been sacked quickly on three of the first four plays of the full-team drill, but Monken allowed the plays to continue. It was the first day of practice for the entire offensive operation, including the remade offensive line.

In an appearance on the team’s official radio show after practice, Monken said he thought the first interception was more of a great play by Ward than a bad decision by Watson. On the second, Monken said Watson was late throwing a dig route, a decision which often ends in a turnover.

Outside of one stretch to start a mid-practice 7-on-7 session, Watson struggled to string completions together and too often threw high floaters on routes outside the numbers. On a day that the clear emphasis was on the quick passing game, Sanders mostly threw checkdowns and quick swing passes. The only notable downfield completion of the day came when Sanders hit first-round rookie KC Concepcion down the sideline late in the 7-on-7 period.

The Browns operated simultaneous 7-on-7 periods on separate fields, which was similar to former coach Kevin Stefanski’s plan in last year’s training camp. Stefanski at least said publicly that last year’s Browns were operating a four-man quarterback competition, while Monken has been clear that — at least for now — it’s Watson versus Sanders for the starting job.

Monken said Wednesday that Sanders and Watson would continue to alternate days with the No. 1 offense for at least the foreseeable future and that both Dillon Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green would get meaningful reps when appropriate.

Monken has stressed that the Browns don’t need to name a starting quarterback until the season begins on Sept. 13, so he won’t rush things. Most of the team’s regulars will play in the preseason, Monken said, and those settings will be especially important for the quarterbacks. But at least for the first week of camp, Monken will have one working with the No. 1 offense and the other with the No. 2 group in early jog-through sessions.

The new-look offensive line

Rookie Spencer Fano worked with the starting offensive line early in practice, but Dawand Jones took all of the competitive reps with the first group. The first line was Jones, Zion Johnson at left guard, Elgton Jenkins at center, Teven Jenkins at right guard and Tytus Howard at right tackle. Only Teven Jenkins was with Cleveland last year, and he was primarily a backup.

For now, the Browns will alternate left tackles by practice like they’re rotating quarterbacks. That’s a curious strategy given that Fano is a top-10 pick who hasn’t played left tackle since his first college season in 2023, but Cleveland clearly remains hopeful it can still see improvement from Jones, who’s been OK when healthy but has had all three of his previous seasons cut short by injury. Jones was benched as the left tackle after two games last year and suffered a season-ending injury while playing right tackle in Week 3. Jones is entering the final year of his current contract.

Last August, the Browns traded a 2028 seventh-round pick for KT Leveston, who quickly went from emergency option to making seven starts and seeing time at both left and right tackle. On Wednesday, Leveston worked as the right guard with the No. 2 offense. He’s still viewed as an emergency tackle option, but the Browns will eventually have Jones and third-round rookie Austin Barber compete for the top swing tackle job.

From what Monken has said and what reporters have seen in spring practices, the Browns are set with Johnson at left guard, Howard at right tackle and Fano at left tackle. Elgton Jenkins will either play center or right guard, with fifth-round rookie Parker Brailsford in line for some eventual opportunities in camp and the preseason with the No. 1 offense.

A potential reunion?

The team officially announced Ward’s extension after practice, but the only Browns-related item on the NFL’s official transaction wire Wednesday was a free-agent visit from defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who played last season in Dallas. Clowney, 33, played for the Browns in 2021 and 2022, but his time in Cleveland ended on a sour note after Clowney refused to enter a game and later accused the Browns of prioritizing Garrett’s statistics. Clowney had a good year in Baltimore in 2023, when Monken was the Ravens’ offensive coordinator. Then Clowney spent 2024 in Carolina.

The Browns have their starting defensive ends of the present and future in Jared Verse and Alex Wright, but the team has been looking for a situational pass rusher since March. Isaiah McGuire, who’s had some strong showings over the past two seasons in mostly a part-time role, is entering the final year of his current contract.

Clowney can still play — he has 23.5 sacks over the last three seasons — but his exact role on an otherwise young team would be uncertain. The Browns currently only have four players aged 30 or older on their 90-man roster.

Mathis and defensive tackle Kalia Davis both left the practice field with members of the team’s medical staff later on Wednesday, but no details were made immediately available. Rookie tight end Joe Royer was excused from practice for personal reasons. Rookie tight end Carsen Ryan worked both as a fullback and as a tight end during practice. He is probably competing with veteran Michael Burton for the team’s fullback job over the next several weeks.