Cleveland has churned through 19 different starting quarterbacks over the past decade, a stat that says more about the franchise's search for stability than any single player's shortcomings.¹ This preseason, though, the Browns finally have something they haven't had in years: a quarterback competition that actually feels like a competition. After Saturday's preseason opener, it's still very much undecided.
New head coach Todd Monken hasn't named a starter for 2026, and he's using August to figure it out the old-fashioned way — by letting both contenders start games.² On one side is Deshaun Watson, the former Clemson national champion trying to prove his body has finally caught up to his talent. On the other is Shedeur Sanders, the Colorado product whose college resume was as loud as his rookie season was rocky.
How We Got Here
Watson's Browns tenure has been defined almost entirely by health, not performance. After a run of injuries that limited him to a fraction of his potential snaps, he entered camp fully recovered, and Monken gave him the first crack at the job — a start in Cleveland's preseason opener against Chicago.³
Sanders' path was different. A two-time Big 12 standout at Colorado, he closed out a record-setting 2024 season with 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, numbers that earned him the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.⁴ Despite that, he fell all the way to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft — one of the more talked-about slides in recent memory — before Cleveland took him with the 144th overall pick.⁴
Once he got on the field, Sanders made an immediate mark, becoming the first Browns quarterback this century to win his debut start.⁵ He went on to start seven games as a rookie, throwing for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. But 10 interceptions over that stretch left plenty of questions unanswered heading into year two and gave Watson an opening to reclaim the job.²
Round One Goes to Watson
Saturday's preseason opener against the Bears gave both quarterbacks their first real audition in front of Monken, and the results were, in the coach's own words, a mixed bag.⁷ Watson, playing in his first game action in almost two years, went 11-of-15 for 126 yards and led two scoring drives against Chicago's starters — though he also lost a fumble.⁷ His offense accounted for all 10 of Cleveland's points, and he was the only Browns quarterback on the day who didn't throw an interception.⁸
Sanders' outing was rougher. Facing mostly Bears backups, he completed 6 of 11 passes for 79 yards and moved the offense efficiently on his first drive — including a third-and-13 conversion — before an ugly interception in the fourth quarter ended his day on a sour note.⁷ The pass, intended for Malachi Corley, was picked off by Beanie Bishop Jr. "It was the right read," Sanders said after the game. "It just slipped... I just didn't execute the decision, but the right decision was made."⁷
Rookie first-round pick KC Concepcion provided one of the few unambiguous bright spots for Cleveland, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown run and adding three catches for 27 yards.⁸
The Numbers So Far
| Deshaun Watson | Shedeur Sanders | |
|---|---|---|
| College | Clemson | Colorado |
| College highlight | 2016 National Championship | 4,134 passing yards, 37 TD (2024) |
| NFL draft position | 1st round (2017) | 5th round, No. 144 (2025) |
| 2025 Browns starts | 0 (injury) | 7 |
| 2025 passing yards | — | 1,400 |
| 2025 TD–INT | — | 7–10 |
| Preseason Week 1 vs. Bears | 11/15, 126 yds, 0 INT, lost fumble | 6/11, 79 yds, 1 INT |
| Next preseason start | Second half vs. Buffalo | Starts vs. Buffalo (Aug. 22) |
The staggered starts aren't an accident. Monken wants to see both quarterbacks run the offense with real reps before making any decisions, which is a notable departure from how quarterback competitions are often handled in August. They usually feature a clear favorite going through the motions while a backup mops up garbage time.² In round two, Sanders will get the start against Buffalo, with Watson taking over in the second half.⁷
Reading the Tea Leaves
Beat reporters and analysts leaned Watson's way after Saturday's game. One national writer put it plainly: if you had to pick a winner from the opener, it's Watson — he faced the Bears' starting defense, scored all of Cleveland's points, and avoided turnovers through the air.⁹ Yahoo's preseason coverage reached a similar conclusion, framing the day as "Round 1" going to Watson while noting Sanders, who mostly faced Chicago's backups, didn't do enough to change the picture.¹⁰
That said, nothing is settled. Monken's own comments after the game struck a measured tone: "There were some things operationally that I know we can clean up, but I thought at moments we threw the ball well, and that's what we needed to see."⁷ With two more preseason games and a full slate of practices remaining, Sanders has a real chance to even the ledger against Buffalo — this time with the benefit of a full start rather than a partial appearance against reserves.
Why This Competition Matters Beyond Cleveland
Part of what makes this battle compelling is that it isn't just about two players — it's about two very different pedigrees colliding at the same position. Watson entered the league as a Clemson icon and a top-10 pick with a national title on his résumé. Sanders arrived as college football's most talked-about quarterback, backed by the attention that comes with being the son of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, only to watch his draft stock crater before he ever threw an NFL pass.
That contrast has turned a routine QB battle into one of the more closely tracked position competitions in the league this preseason. Add in the built-in fanbases each player brings and it's easy to see why this storyline has outpaced most other camp battles for attention.
What to Watch For
With one preseason game in the books, a few things are worth tracking heading into the Buffalo matchup:
- Whether Sanders can clean up the decision-making. His interception against the Bears echoed the turnover issues that plagued his rookie season. A cleaner outing against Buffalo's defense would go a long way toward reopening the competition.
- How Watson holds up physically over a longer stretch. His opener was limited to roughly a half; a full outing will say more about whether his body can handle a starter's workload.
- Monken's tone after Buffalo. Coaches rarely announce competitions are "over," but the specificity of postgame comments often previews the eventual decision.
Neither quarterback needs to be spectacular to win the job — just more convincing than the other over a small sample of preseason snaps. That's an unusual amount of pressure to place on August football, but for a franchise that has been searching for stability at the position for a decade, it's also exactly the kind of scrutiny this competition was always going to get.
Footnotes / Sources
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- CBS Sports — Browns QB battle: Todd Monken reveals preseason plan for Shedeur Sanders vs. Deshaun Watson: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/browns-qb-battle-todd-monken-reveals-preseason-plan-shedeur-sanders-deshaun-watson/
- CBS Sports — same article as above (preseason plan and starter timeline): https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/browns-qb-battle-todd-monken-reveals-preseason-plan-shedeur-sanders-deshaun-watson/
- Fox News/OutKick — Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders give Browns a preseason quarterback battle worth watching: https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/deshaun-watson-shedeur-sanders-give-browns-preseason-quarterback-battle-worth-watching
- Yahoo Sports — Shedeur Sanders Faces Tough QB Competition as Deshaun Watson Starts Preseason Game: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/shedeur-sanders-faces-tough-qb-161626402.html
- CBS Sports — Browns QB battle update (context on 2025 rookie season, first debut win): https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/browns-qb-battle-todd-monken-reveals-preseason-plan-shedeur-sanders-deshaun-watson/
- Yahoo Sports — Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Shares Injury Update Ahead of Bears Game: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/browns-qb-shedeur-sanders-shares-214903473.html
- ESPN — Bears 34-10 Browns (Aug 15, 2026) Game Recap: https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401874393
- ESPN — same recap (Concepcion touchdown, Watson/Sanders stat lines): https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401874393
- CBS Sports — Deshaun Watson outplays Shedeur Sanders in preseason opener, but Browns QB battle leaves plenty to be desired: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/shedeur-sanders-deshaun-watson-browns-qb-battle-preseason-bears/
- Yahoo Sports — NFL Preseason Blitz: Deshaun Watson outplayed Shedeur Sanders vs. Bears in latest stage of Browns QB battle: https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/nfl-preseason-blitz-deshaun-watson-outplayed-shedeur-sanders-vs-bears-in-latest-stage-of-browns-qb-battle-195013634.html