Todd Monken: Deshaun Watson functioned at a high level

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson made his first appearance in any kind of game since tearing his Achilles during the 2024 season when he started Saturday's game against the Bears. Watson played the entire first half and went 11-of-15 for 126 yards and the Browns scored 10 points while he was in the game. Watson also ran three times, including a sneak, but lost a fumble and the offense had a delay of game as well as a timeout with the clock running down. After the game, head coach Todd Monken acknowledged at a press conference that "there’s a lot to clean up" including two other turnovers but had a mostly positive reaction to Watson's return to the lineup. “It was awesome," Monken said. "It was so cool to watch him play. I get all of the frustration — fans, himself. But for him to come back and work as he did is an unbelievable credit to him. And then to go out there — h was having fun today and that is so cool. I thought he really functioned at a high level. We don’t want to be taking timeouts, we sure as heck can’t take delay of games. But it was fun watching him play and watching us put the next step forward and see where we are at.” Shedeur Sanders accounted for one of the other turnovers with an interception, but Monken said the plan to start him in the team's next preseason game remains in place. A decision on Week 1 could come at that point and Watson got his best chance to make his case on Saturday.