The Cleveland Browns have put off deciding on their starting quarterback until at least early in training camp, with head coach Todd Monken saying he wants to see more from Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Throughout the ongoing competition, which shifted over the course of preseason workouts, there have been many opinions voiced about who should get the job over the other and why.
The divide comes between those who think Watson gives the Browns a better chance to win now, which is most important, while other analysts are adamant that the organization needs to find out how good Sanders really is so it can better plan for the future. Add to that the baggage Watson brings from his off-field scandal and injury histories, along with the legitimate questions about Sanders’ viability as an NFL QB, and it’s a difficult choice, to be sure.
But it also pays to remember that it’s not permanent, and Monken is allowed to change his mind no matter what his initial decision may be. In fact, there may be an ideal scenario just waiting to play out.
NFL analyst Rich Eisen is breaking down how the Browns’ QB competition will go, saying Watson will get his chance, based on the team’s investment in him, before being replaced by Sanders, which will then allow the team to get a look at him.
“You know I’m a Sanders caper. I cape for Deion and Shedeur a lot. I think at the end of the day, they’re going to see Deshaun Watson and go, ‘All right, you came back from your Achilles. We’ve put so much into you. So much grief for the decision that we’ve made. We’re going to see what we’ve got in you before we move on.’ If the first half of the season doesn’t go well enough, they’re gonna be like, ‘Then we need to see what we got in Shedeur.’ Because, boy, do we have draft choices up the you-know-what over the next few drafts, including the quarterback-heavy one next year. You know that’s the way it’s going to go,” Eisen said.
It is hard to blame the Browns for wanting to get something back on the historic investment of draft picks and guaranteed money they have already sunk into Watson. Cleveland has just nine wins in games he has started since he arrived in 2022, so they’d certainly like to notch a few more before he can become a free agent, even though it has not ruled out re-signing him.
Replacing Watson with Sanders would be much easier than replacing Sanders with Watson, as the veteran then would simply be a lame-duck solution until the team starts all over again with a QB from the 2027 NFL Draft.
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