A recent update indicated that the Cleveland Browns would start veteran Deshaun Watson at quarterback over 2025 rookie Shedeur Sanders “if the season started tomorrow.”
The beginning of the campaign is still a handful of months away, but the Browns’ offseason program is set to get underway next week. For a piece published on Friday, Zac Jackson of The Athletic suggested that one signal-caller will enter those workouts penciled in atop the depth chart.
Who is Browns’ “best option” between Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson?
“I feel stronger than ever that Sanders, not Watson, is the favorite to win the starting job,” Jackson wrote. “Sanders is 24 and signed for three more seasons. He was never the team’s Plan A last season and might not be Plan A for the future, but giving Sanders every chance to win the job and make real progress is clearly the best option right now.”
As for Watson, he signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract as part of joining the Browns in March 2022. He was arguably the NFL’s worst starting quarterback of the 2024 season before he went down with a torn Achilles tendon in October of that year, and he hasn’t played in a meaningful game since due to re-injuring that Achilles during his recovery.
Sanders was far from spectacular as he went 3-4 over seven starts during his rookie campaign. That said, he has been spotted working in the team’s facility throughout the offseason.
“He’s been working on getting stronger,” Jackson shared about Sanders. “Social media posts show he’s been throwing with teammates. The start of this offseason will provide Sanders with the chance to make real progress and become a more comfortable and confident player.”
Jackson added that he thinks Cleveland’s QB1 job “is Sanders’ to lose.”
Why Browns may want Shedeur Sanders to win the starting job over Deshaun Watson
“The chances of Watson being with the Browns past this season are extremely low — and the level at which he would have to play to even be the best option for a rebuilding 2026 Browns team is a level he’s rarely performed at since 2020,” Jackson wrote.
Watson could give new head coach Todd Monken something to think about by performing like the quarterback who earned three Pro Bowl nods while with the Houston Texans from next week through the end of the preseason. Then again, Browns general manager Andrew Berry could soon make a blockbuster move that would allow him to target a top-tier quarterback prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft.