The Cleveland Browns are heading into another season with a lot of unknowns and question marks surrounding the quarterback position. They didn’t make any major moves in the offseason, which seemingly makes this a two-horse race between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson.
Despite playing for the entire second half of the 2025 season, Sanders wasn’t given the automatic green light, leaving the door open for Watson, who was injured throughout the 2025 campaign. This is very much a competition, at least on paper. Early reporting has indicated that Watson has a slight edge over Sanders, at least at the mid-point of May.
Analyst Garrett Bush doesn’t believe that this is close to a done deal, as he mentioned in a recent segment of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.
“If you want to find out who the best student is, let them take the test. The test in football is practice and training camp. You want to see if Deshaun Watson is actually back, not just throwing on air, not just throwing to receivers with nobody around, I want to see if you have accuracy with trash all around your ankles, Myles Garrett bearing down on you. Right now, everybody can have an opinion on who the starting quarterback is,” Bush said.
“If you want to find out who the best student is… let them take the test.” 👀@Gbush91 reacts to reports that Deshaun Watson hit it off with new #Browns HC Todd Monken.https://t.co/VUXmh3Gi8i pic.twitter.com/Qzs2fmgc50
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) May 18, 2026
Bush mentioned that he’d love to see Watson on the field, taking meaningful reps. However, he thinks the general media should pump the brakes on naming him the starter, especially since he hasn’t played competitive football in well over a year.
Any competent quarterback can look like an All-Pro when there’s no pressure, but it’s another thing when defenders like Myles Garrett are heading your way on an all-out rush. Watson will get those reps during training camp, so that should be a better test of what the veteran QB is capable of when his back is against the wall.
Sanders did get some in-game practice during the 2025 campaign, though it should be noted that he might not have gotten a fair shake. Several quarterbacks have struggled at first, only to thrive under the right coach or system.
Josh Allen had significant accuracy concerns when he first took the reins in Buffalo, but once he got his feet under him after a few years, he turned into an MVP. The jury is still out on Sanders, and it remains to be seen how much of a chance he’ll get with these Watson rumors in mind.
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