Shedeur Sanders #12 of the Cleveland Browns
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Shedeur Sanders #12 of the Cleveland Browns
A week ago, as the NFL’s owners meetings in Phoenix were getting underway, we were told that the Cleveland Browns were pointed a certain way at starting quarterback for 2026–it was, according to NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo, Deshaun Watson who is in “pole position” as the offseason program gets underway. That appeared to leave Shedeur Sanders, the starter for the final seven games of last season, as the backup.
And certainly, the way Watson was talked about by Browns officials over the course of the week indicated that the Browns are not opposed to starting him as the QB1 throughout the offseason and into training camp. That would be a rough turn for Sanders, because it would basically mean he had to win back a job from a guy who had not played since October 2024.
Sanders had his struggles in 2025, but the Browns went 3-4 with him under center, not bad considering they were 2-8 with Dillon Gabriel and Joe Flacco as the starters.
Browns Will Have Shedeur Sanders vs. Deshaun Watson
The Browns’ commitment to the Watson “pole position,” though, apparently depends on which network you watch. If fans of Sanders were despairing over Garafolo’s declaration, they need only to flip over to ESPN, where a different picture is being painted–there, it’s Sanders who is the leader before the race starts.
The network’s insider, Dan Graziano, appeared on the “Get Up” program this week and said that’s the sense around the Browns.
Here’s how Graziano put it: “They do have a lot of people but Shedeur Sanders ended last season as the starter, and sort of reading tea leaves and talking to people, I think the most likely scenario here is he begins the offseason and opens the season as the starter.
“I know the owner, Jimmy Haslam, said something about Deshaun Watson having a great chance. Deshaun Watson has players 19 games in the last five years—they don’t have any idea what they’re going to get from him. He’s under contract for one more year, they basically have to have him on the roster at this point. Could a light go on and he’ll be fine? Possibly, but my sense of it is, Shedeur Sanders is the strongest candidate to open the season right now.”
Browns Owner Spoke on Deshaun Watson
Haslam did declare that the Browns had some excitement about the return of Watson. As well he should–he paid Watson a guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract in 2022 and has gotten just 19 games for it.
“Deshaun has a great chance, fresh start, offensive-minded coach, who has in his past been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks and make them successful,” Haslam said. “So, Deshaun has a great chance to do that now.”
Shedeur Sanders Has Been an Offseason Presence
But that should not preclude Sanders from having an equal chance of winning the Browns job. Coach Todd Monken also said last week that Sanders has been at the team training facility almost constantly since Monken got the job.
But Monken also said he intends to pick a QB1 early in the offseason and let that player have the job until he loses it–he won’t split QB1 reps between two players. If he tabs Watson from the outset, it will mean Sanders will need to dislodge Watson to win the job.
“I’m not ready to say that yet,” Monken said when asked who was the starter. “I just said the reps can’t be divided (evenly). There’s no chance. At least on a daily basis.”