The Cleveland Browns have a lot of new talent on offense, with multiple linemen and a tight end joining the team as free agents so far this offseason. Unfortunately, they have yet to add a new quarterback to the mix, and it doesn’t seem like they will before training camp opens a few months from now.
That would leave Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders as the primary contenders in head coach Todd Monken’s open competition to be the Browns’ starting QB in 2026. That may be discouraging to some fans, but it also could generate a great deal of interest heading into the campaign.
Insider Mary Kay Cabot recently revealed what the Browns’ quarterback competition could look like, and she expects it to be a compelling summer.
“I think [the quarterback competition] will be wildly entertaining and very heated and very animated. I think it will bring out the best in both [Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson]. I think the fact that they both have to learn a brand-new offense levels the playing field a little bit. The fact that Shedeur started the final seven games, that gives him a little bit of a boost. Deshaun having three Pro Bowls on his resume, that gives him a little bit of an edge. I think they both bring some really fascinating things to the table. It will come down to what Todd Monken thinks when it comes to choosing the starting quarterback and who he thinks will give his team the best chance to win,” Cabot said.
"I think it will be wildly entertaining and very heated, very animated. I think the fact that they both have to learn a brand new offense levels the playing field a little bit."
🚨 @MaryKayCabot w/ @CLETalkingHeads on the #Browns QB competition going into the season pic.twitter.com/AZQbvXyT6I
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) March 17, 2026
If you thought a four-man competition last season was something to see, this two-man show could be twice as good. The storylines surrounding the disgraced veteran Watson and the presumably overrated Sanders would make for an excellent season of “Hard Knocks,” if the Browns were eligible.
Watson, a rising star with the Houston Texans whose career there was derailed by sexual assault allegations, has played just 19 of 68 possible games since being traded to the Browns in 2022. The organization looked to be done with him multiple times, but his albatross contract has ironically forced the team to keep him on the roster due to its salary cap implications. Now, after his latest missed season, he will try to play in an NFL game for the first time in almost two years.
Sanders was a high-profile prospect who spectacularly fell into the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, where Cleveland reluctantly selected him. He was banished to the bench by former head coach Kevin Stefanski, and when he finally got to play, he generated some highlights and earned some victories, but his metrics show he was one of the worst quarterbacks in recent NFL history.
The fact that this can go either way – Watson or Sanders could either emerge as stars or show that they can’t play a lick – and that sides will almost certainly be taken by fans and the media, makes it a must-watch event heading into the 2026 NFL season.
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