With the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition now three days into training camp, it is getting harder to find people who firmly believe Deshaun Watson deserves to be the starter. Shedeur Sanders has been gaining momentum for reasons other than the potential long-term impact on the franchise.
Watson has lost most of the momentum he built up during minicamps and OTAs, and he reportedly almost gave all of it away with a poor first practice. The door is wide open for Sanders to seize the job, and he may be well on his way to doing so.
ESPN host Pat McAfee believes that to be the case, and the former NFL punter made a big endorsement for Sanders to be the Browns’ QB this season.
“We are a pro-Shedeur show. I think we have been, even though the stats necessarily didn’t look like it. As soon as he got on the field for the Browns, they had a spark, and they were winning games. I don’t want the Browns to do classic Browns stuff, which is like, Baker Mayfield won for us, but we didn’t like it. Shedeur was winning for you guys. Now, do you have to go back in the past because of the mistake that you made giving the largest guaranteed contract in the history of sports? Nope, cut your losses. I like Shedeur’s chances. He looked fit. He’s saying he’s from Cleveland. I think he wants the job,” McAfee said.
Despite being widely criticized for a perceived attitude of entitlement coming out of college, Sanders should be commended for the way he has responded to the challenge of his battle with Watson. It shows a level of leadership and commitment that some skeptics didn’t believe he was capable of.
Whether that is enough to overcome some physical limitations remains to be seen. But his improvement in areas such as pre-snap reads, offensive alignment, efficiency with progressions, and throwing fundamentals has been very encouraging.
In eight appearances as a rookie last season, the fifth-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft completed just 56.6 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 23 sacks taken. Even though the Browns did win three of his seven starts, he will need to show improvement in all of those areas during preseason games to earn the starting job.
For now, Sanders was able to survive a training camp visit from his father without any controversy. It could be that the family is finally on the same page regarding what’s best for his NFL career.
Ideally, either Watson or Sanders will leave no doubt about who the QB1 should be, and it would be better if it is because of the success of one, rather than the failure of the other.
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