The Cleveland Browns still have more than a month to decide on who their starting quarterback will be for Week 1 of the NFL season. That’s good news, because so far in training camp, neither Deshaun Watson nor Shedeur Sanders has shown enough to prove worthy of the assignment.
In fact, their struggles in the first week of practice may be leaving the door open for Dillon Gabriel to make his case for the job. He reportedly has performed the best, even though most of his practice reps have come with the third team against backup defensive players.
With that in mind, analyst Daryl Ruiter was asked to pick a starting quarterback to play tomorrow, and he made his early choice for Sanders.
“Shedeur Sanders. Upside plus between him and Deshaun, he’s been the most consistent, and he’s throwing fewer interceptions in practice. I’m not on the ‘Let’s play Deshaun Watson’ train this year. I’m sorry,” Ruiter said.
"Shedeur Sanders. Upside plus between he and Deshaun, he's been the most consistent and he's throwing fewer INTs in practice."
🚨 @RuiterWrongFAN to @KenCarman and @SportsBoyTony on which #Browns QB he would start right now if there was a game today pic.twitter.com/hOqS4VG9rp
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) August 3, 2026
If Ruiter’s decision is really based simply on the fact that Sanders is throwing fewer interceptions, rather than making highlight-level plays, that does not bode well for Cleveland going forward. Granted, it is still early in camp, and the Browns’ revamped defense looks to be far ahead of their offense at this point.
There is also the case being made that even though Watson is arguably the better choice for this season, there is no upside for the future in playing him. The Browns would be better served evaluating Sanders, or maybe even Gabriel, over a full season of starts to decide on how they want to address the position going forward.
The Browns do not have a game until Aug. 15, when they open their preseason schedule against the Chicago Bears. After a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 20, Cleveland will host them on Aug. 22.
Those two games will likely lead to the announcement of a starting quarterback, in order to protect that person from injury in the final preseason game against the New England Patriots on Aug. 27. The Browns open the regular season on Sept. 13 at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
So, there is plenty of time to sort out this QB situation, but it would be helpful if someone emerged as the clear leader for the job sooner rather than later.
NEXT: Two Browns Rookies Are Turning Heads In Training Camp
