Most Cleveland Browns fans were wildly disappointed when head coach Todd Monken named Deshaun Watson the team’s starting quarterback a few weeks before Week 1. After the season-opening 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, those fans’ concerns were justified after Watson led the offense to three points all day until a deep touchdown pass in garbage time late in the fourth quarter.
The odds are that Watson doesn’t last the full 17 games as the starter, but he will remain in this role until we are told otherwise, and that leaves second-year fan favorite Shedeur Sanders in a questionable spot. The Browns have two first-round picks in the 2027 draft that they can use to potentially bring in a new franchise quarterback, but many still believe that Sanders could be that guy, so there is growing frustration with each passing week that he doesn’t start and get a chance to prove himself ahead of the ’27 draft.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot tried to provide a little clarity on the situation during a recent appearance on The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima. She reiterated the need for patience since there are so many new faces in the building and said that all this change is the reason why Monken didn’t want to start Sanders right away.
“This is a fledgling new offense. It’s a new scheme. It’s a new terminology. It’s five new guys on the offensive line. It was always going to have a rocky start, especially on the road. That’s why Todd Monken did not want to put Shedeur Sanders in that situation. I really do think that by the time he gets in there, he will be more prepared and the offense will be more ready,” Cabot said.
"I really do think that by the time he gets in there, he will be more prepared and the offense will be more ready."
➡️ @MaryKayCabot w/ @KenCarman and @SportsBoyTony on Shedeur Sanders' potential timeline now with #Browns offense https://t.co/es6uFVegsx pic.twitter.com/nAlZGrLDFL
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 17, 2026
Cabot also spoke about Watson’s recent postgame comments where he pointed his finger at the media again for having unrealistic expectations for his performance. Once again, he has skirted around any accountability and blamed the media for his poor play, and we aren’t even at Week 2 yet. Cabot believes this is just more writing on the wall that his time is running out.
If this is why Sanders isn’t starting, it’s an understandable move by Monken. For Sanders to have any chance to succeed at his young age, he needs a stable situation to step into, and right now this isn’t that. It could eventually turn into something stable later in the season once the rookies get more comfortable and the offensive line starts to hopefully mesh a bit more, and perhaps then it would benefit Sanders to step in.
As it currently stands, Watson may just be a sort of sacrificial lamb. Unless he turns it around, it will finally be the end for him in Cleveland and Sanders will then get an extended chance to sway the coaching staff and front office away from drafting another QB in 2027.
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