The debate over who should start at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns has been dominating the conversation all offseason.
Longtime Cleveland.com columnist Terry Pluto has seen more Browns heartbreak than almost anyone covering this team, and when he was asked where he stood on the Watson versus Sanders question, Pluto didn’t hold back.
“The biggest little word in the English language is ‘if,'” Pluto said. “If he could stay healthy. Because we’ve really not seen Watson play well since he hurt that shoulder in that Baltimore game. I would lean towards playing Shedeur because in my mind, Watson is damaged goods.”
It makes sense when you look at Watson’s recent history. He hurt his shoulder in a game against Baltimore. He has torn his Achilles twice. He has missed the better part of two seasons. He is coming back into a situation where the entire football world is expressing serious doubt about his ability to sustain a high level of play for 17 regular-season games.
And yet Watson emerged from the first month of the offseason program with what sources described as an edge over Sanders in the competition.
That is a lot of ifs stacked on top of each other. And on the other side of the competition you have Shedeur Sanders, a young quarterback who showed real promise in his rookie season, who now has Spencer Fano protecting his blindside, KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston as weapons on the outside, Harold Fannin Jr. at tight end, and Quinshon Judkins in the backfield. The talent on offense and the protection he has now would allow the Browns to get a full evaluation of Sanders.
Based on everything that has happened over the past two years in Cleveland, it’s hard not to feel the same way as Pluto.
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