Shedeur Sanders is in the midst of the biggest battle of his life: attempting to become the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in 2026. Most reports say that he is neck-and-neck in this race against Deshaun Watson, and the winner is anyone’s guess.
In a recent sit-down with NFL Network, Sanders talked about the competition and said that he’s not competing with Watson, Dillon Gabriel, Taylen Green, or anyone else. Instead, he is going up against himself and his mentality.
Sanders believes that the QB race is a “me versus myself” showdown.
“Yeah, I have [been in a quarterback battle before]. Me versus myself. Even now, it’s the same way. Deshaun goes against himself every day. Dillon goes against himself every day, and Taylen does, too. We all just battle ourselves. It’s not each other, because it’s not like we’re going against each other. We’re going against the defense. If anything, it’s offense versus defense every day,” Sanders said.
Shedeur Sanders’ me vs. myself mentality, Year 2 processing growth + more from our interview with Shedeur ahead of #Browns practice he led with starters: pic.twitter.com/3PHthhTj8g
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) August 4, 2026
Sanders had one of the most talked-about rookie seasons in recent memory, and not all of the discussion around him was positive. Among the comments about Sanders were some critiques that he was holding onto the ball too long in the pocket.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out on the field. The reports from training camp have been quite favorable for Sanders. He hasn’t been without his mistakes, but Watson is making more. That means that Sanders could be in a better headspace than Watson and may come out on top in the QB competition.
The media has been pitting Sanders against Watson, but that’s not how he sees things, and that may be the sort of approach that will lead to him winning this coveted position in Cleveland.
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