Recent reports have indicated that veteran Deshaun Watson and not 2025 rookie Shedeur Sanders should be considered the favorite to win the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback job later this summer.
Former NFL signal-caller and current analyst Robert Griffin III once featured for the Browns (2016). During a recent appearance on the “Yahoo Sports Daily” program, Griffin indicated that some Cleveland players may want first-year head coach Todd Monken to give Sanders more than just an opportunity to earn the QB1 gig.
Browns’ locker room “believes” in this QB amid Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson competition?
“When you step into the huddle, when you step onto the field, do you believe that you have a chance to win with the guy who is in the huddle with you at quarterback? The Cleveland Browns’ locker room believes they can win with Shedeur Sanders,” Griffin directly said, per Chris Cardillo of Pro Football Network and Jimmy Swartz of Browns Nation. “They don’t believe they can win with Deshaun Watson. They don’t believe that they can win with Dillon Gabriel. And that to me says [Shedeur] should be the guy, and it’s his job to lose at that point.”
A 2025 third-round draft pick, Gabriel went 1-5 over six starts as a rookie and now seems to be the club’s undisputed third-choice option. While Sanders’ stats from his debut pro campaign were hardly impressive, he did manage to guide Cleveland to three victories over seven starts.
As for Watson, he was arguably the league’s worst starting quarterback the last time he was atop Cleveland’s depth chart. He hasn’t played in a regular-season game since he suffered a torn right Achilles in October 2024, as he later reinjured the Achilles during his recovery.
Robert Griffin III has Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson advice for Browns
“If I was in the decision-maker chair of who should be my starter when we start in (organized team activities), and we go to our first mandatory minicamp, I’m starting Shedeur Sanders,” Griffin added about the Browns. “And the reason is a lot of people talk about stats, and he threw more interceptions than touchdowns… Well, what they did with him at quarterback was they won games. That to me is one of the most important things for the quarterback position.”
Sanders should receive chances to prove Griffin either right or wrong from the start of training camp through Cleveland’s final preseason game. That said, it remains to be seen if Sanders has the goods to outperform a healthy Watson in upcoming exhibition matchups.