Ryan Fitzpatrick is clearly not a fan of the Cleveland Browns’ QB1.
The retired ex-NFL quarterback Fitzpatrick was on the call for Amazon Prime during Thursday’s preseason game between the Browns and the New England Patriots. In the third quarter at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, Fitzpatrick got in a shot on the air at Browns QB Deshaun Watson.
Fitzpatrick told his broadcast partners Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit that it was inevitable that Watson would fail as Cleveland’s starter. When Herbstreit pressed Fitzpatrick on the matter, Fizpatrick doubled down on the remark.
“Deshaun, once he fails, Shedeur [Sanders] is going to jump into this thing, and he’s going to be the guy,” said Fitzpatrick. “And this city is going to be behind him.”
“Yeah, but you think he’ll fail?” Herbstreit said in response. “Yeah, it’s gonna happen,” Fitzpatrick replied.
Here is the full video of the exchange.
Ryan Fitzpatrick: "Once [Deshaun Watson] fails, Shedeur (Sanders) is going to jump into this thing, and he's going to be the guy. And this city is going to be behind him."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 28, 2026
Kirk Herbstreit: "You think he'll fail?"
Fitzpatrick: "Yeah. It's gonna happen." pic.twitter.com/UjlgGpDXrG
Watson, the controversial former Pro Bowler, was recently named the starter at QB by new Browns head coach Todd Monken. There is not a lot to get excited about there though, especially after Watson missed the entire 2025 season due to a second Achilles rupture and had zero touchdowns and two turnovers during the 2026 preseason.
An interesting theory recently emerged about the Browns’ handling of Watson and why they named him their QB1 to start the year. But Cleveland fans clearly just want Watson and his $230 million contract to go away at this point, and now we know that Fitzpatrick is not exactly a Watson enthusiast either.
