Deshaun Watson’s Best Practice of Browns Camp Draws Loud Pat McAfee Reaction

Deshaun Watson turned in his sharpest practice of Cleveland Browns training camp on Wednesday, and Pat McAfee wasn’t shy about saying so. Day 7 of camp featured the veteran quarterback going a perfect stretch through red-zone work, and it reignited a quarterback competition that had been trending toward Shedeur Sanders for most of the week.

Watson completed 17 of 20 passes with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions across 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills, according to ESPN Cleveland’s daily practice tracker. He also took every first-team rep on the day. That combination, according to ClutchPoints, was enough to draw a reaction out of McAfee on X.

ESPN Cleveland’s tracker read: “DAY 7 OF BROWNS TRAINING CAMP IS A WRAP! Here’s how the QBs did in team drills (7v7 and 11v11). Deshaun Watson took all of the 1st team reps.” —

DAY 7 OF BROWNS TRAINING CAMP IS A WRAP! Here’s how the QBs did in team drills (7v7 and 11v11). Deshaun Watson took all of the 1st team reps. pic.twitter.com/dIELwaRUHk

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 5, 2026

McAfee posted a two-word, NSFW reaction on X shortly after: “HOLY S***,” he wrote, without further comment.

Context matters here. Watson had scuffled through the season’s first week of camp, including an interception on Friday, and Wednesday’s session was widely described by outlets on the ground as his best of the summer. Cleveland practiced in shells rather than full pads that day, and much of Watson’s production came on a short red-zone period during 7-on-7 work — a detail worth keeping in mind before reading too much into the touchdown total.

Why the rep count matters more than the stat line

Browns head coach Todd Monken has been alternating first-team reps between Watson and Sanders since the spring, telling reporters earlier in camp, “We anticipate alternating… Deshaun and Shedeur with the ones.” Watson getting every first-team snap on a single day is a departure from that pattern, even if it’s just one practice in a competition that spans several more weeks.

Monken has been careful not to tip his hand on a starter. Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reported this week that Watson and Sanders could each start one of the Browns’ first two preseason games, but Monken pushed back on that framing Wednesday, telling reporters, “Obviously, if it’s still a competition at that time, why wouldn’t you start one and start the other, and then we would go from there,” per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. That leaves the plan for the preseason opener against Chicago on August 15 unsettled.

Shedeur Sanders, working with a mix of first- and second-team personnel rather than the top unit for most of Wednesday’s session, went 11 of 16 with two touchdowns and an interception — his first pick since the previous Saturday, according to BrownsNation. Dillon Gabriel added a clean 4-of-6 outing with two more touchdowns.

The bigger picture on Watson

Wednesday’s performance doesn’t erase the larger question hanging over Watson’s tenure in Cleveland. He’s appeared in just 19 total games since signing his fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract in 2022, and he hasn’t played in a regular-season game since October 2024 after tearing his Achilles. He finished the 2025 season with 1,148 passing yards and five touchdowns on 63.4% completion across a limited number of appearances.

Sanders, in his rookie year, threw for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns on 56.6% completion across eight games (seven starts). Neither résumé settles the argument on its own, which is part of why Monken has said he wants to lean on preseason game reps — not just practice tape — before naming a starter.

Cleveland opens the regular season on September 13 against Jacksonville. Whoever wins the job will have had all of training camp, three preseason games, and several more weeks of installs to prove it. For now, Wednesday belongs to Watson — and to whatever inspired Pat McAfee’s two-word response.