Browns make starting quarterback decision after Deshaun Watson-Shedeur Sanders battle
It took a while to get here, but the Browns have their Week 1 starter.Deshaun Watson will get the ball against the Jaguars over Shedeur Sanders, multiple reports said Monday morning.The decision came down to the wire after first-year coach Todd Monken said he wanted to open training camp with a starter named.
Watson and Sanders had been splitting first-team reps throughout the offseason.The Browns begin their season on Sept.13 in Jacksonville before traveling to Tampa Week 2 before kicking off the home slate Sept.
27 against the Panthers.After years of instability under center, the Browns hope Watson will finally come through.They acquired Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler with Houston, in a controversial 2022 trade, but he has only played 19 games between suspension and injury while a cavalcade of fill-ins filed through the position.Two Achilles tears cost Watson the entire 2025 season, and 40-year-old Joe Flacco was the starter for four games before he was traded and rookie Dillon Gabriel took over.
When Gabriel went down with an injury, Sanders took over for the final seven games.Gabriel, though still on the Browns’ roster, was never in consideration for the starting gig this year.Sanders finished his rookie 2025 season with 1,400 passing yards on 56.6 percent completion to go with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
It was a rough start for the signal caller, who began his pro career by falling to the fifth round after being projected as a potential top 10 pick.In two preseason games each — both played the first half of one game and second half of the other — Sanders and Watson were so similar statistically, it’s hard to give one player an edge on preseason performance alone.Sanders had one fewer completed passes in five fewer attempts on nearly identical yardage.
Watson threw one interception to Sanders’ two, and he failed to record a passing touchdown while Sanders had one.Watson has drawn the ire of fans many times during his Browns career, mo...