The opening game of the 2026 NFL season is less than a month away, and the Cleveland Browns have still not named a starting quarterback. Fans have known for months that it’s a two-horse race between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, but even to this point, head coach Todd Monken hasn’t tipped his hand one way or another.
Sanders seemingly has a disadvantage being the younger player with a lot more to prove, as Watson has several more years of NFL experience, albeit he hasn’t played much since he got to Cleveland. There have not been any questions about Sanders’ work ethic, so at this point, it will truly come down to who Monken and his staff believe is the more qualified man for the job.
Analyst Daryl Ruiter talked about this on 92.3’s The Fan, specifically bringing up the importance of what Sanders does over the next week.
“This might be the biggest week of Shedeur Sanders’ life… He has to absolutely kill it this week, not only in the joint practice with the Bills, but also in the preseason game” Ruiter said.
“This might be the biggest week of Shedeur Sanders’ life. He has to absolutely kill it this week.”
🚨 @RuiterWrongFAN to @NickPedone12 on the week ahead for #Browns QB Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/c0UcIu2hQe
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) August 16, 2026
Sanders will get a greater opportunity to impress his coaches in joint practices with the Buffalo Bills, and it looks like he’s going to get more work in this week’s preseason game, too. The Browns got trounced by the Chicago Bears in their first preseason game, putting up just 10 points, and their quarterbacks combined for just 228 passing yards.
Watson was the biggest contributor, going 11 for 15 for 126 yards, while Sanders went 6 for 11, throwing for 79 yards and an interception. This type of performance doesn’t help instill confidence from the coaching staff. As Ruiter said, this is going to be a big week for Sanders.
If he is impressive in practice and in the preseason game, he could gain favor in Monken’s eyes and move up the pecking order when it comes to becoming the starter. If this is another dud week, he could be riding the pine until further notice, submitting in this way to the more seasoned player.
Browns fans are running out of patience, and they want this team and coaching staff to figure out the QB position sooner rather than later. Picking the wrong quarterbacks has haunted them for years, so now’s the time for everything to start lining up.
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