There aren’t many quarterback competitions around the NFL this summer, but the Cleveland Browns have one of them. Veteran Deshaun Watson and second-year pro Shedeur Sanders have been battling it out for the right to start the year as QB1.
Watson started the Browns’ preseason opener over the weekend, and first-year head coach Todd Monken has already stated Sanders will start the team’s second exhibition game. Nothing has been decided yet, but ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky believes there is one clear option for Cleveland right now.
‘It’s not close’
Watson completed 11-of-15 passes for 126 yards and lost one fumble in the Browns’ 34-10 loss to the Chicago Bears. Sanders, meanwhile, was just 6-of-11 for 79 yards and an interception.
Neither player was overly impressive, but Orlovsky saw enough from Watson to determine the former Houston Texans Pro Bowler was “clearly better.”
“After preseason Week 1, it’s not close the competition, and I’ve been pumping Shedeur to be the guy,” Orlovsky said on ESPN Monday morning. “I thought Deshaun played faster, he saw it cleaner, the ball jumped off his hand a bit more.”
Orlovsky went on to highlight one good play and one bad one from Watson’s performance, adding that there was “a moment or two of rust.”
“But if you just looked at the snaps and the body of work, Deshaun was clearly better in the game,” Orlovsky added. “Even though I’ve been sitting here pounding the table to start Shedeur because it makes more sense to start Shedeur, I did not find after preseason Week 1 that it was all that close.”
Sanders will get his shot
According to The Athletic, Monken will have Sanders work with the first-team offense on Monday and Wednesday this week, with Watson getting a chance on Tuesday. Both will play with the first team on Thursday, and then Sanders will start Saturday’s preseason game at home against the Buffalo Bills.
“I did feel going into last week’s game it was relatively close in terms of both having an opportunity,” Monken said. “It would be unfair to not go in the next game and allow Shedeur that opportunity (to play with most of the starters).”
We should know which way Monken is leaning after Saturday, whether he’s ready to announce a winner or not. If we were placing a wager though, we’d bet on both Sanders and Watson to start games for the Browns this fall.
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