The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room has been one of the offseason’s most demanding storylines, and it is getting more complicated by the day with the new season approaching.
Deshaun Watson, still working through the back half of his fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal, is fighting to hold onto the QB1 spot against Shedeur Sanders, who recently dropped a new song on Spotify. Sanders is the second-year passer who took over the starting job at the end of their rough 2025 campaign.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson at the Browns OTA camp in Berea on May 20, 2026. © Lisa Scalfaro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
With the Browns’ veterans reporting to camp on July 28, head coach Todd Monken has given no indication he is ready to hand anyone the job outright. That is exactly what made a new social media clip — showing Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson putting in workout reps together — have fans buzzing.
Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders put competition aside to work out together ahead of camp
ESPN Cleveland recently shared a practice clip showing Watson and Sanders training together on a South Florida field, running footwork drills and throwing passes to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.
The video’s text overlay read, “THEY READY,” and most importantly, it showed absolutely no visible friction between the two competitors. A few days ago, in a similar kind of video, both signal-callers were seen practicing route running and touchdowns. And these healthy optics matter because the public debate surrounding this quarterback battle has become incredibly intense.
Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders putting in work 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/H9I1h5qQ0V
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 17, 2026
Watson has appeared in just 19 games across his four seasons in Cleveland, completing 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards. He missed all of 2025 recovering from a second surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon.
Sanders, meanwhile, went 3–4 as a starter last year, completing 56.6% of his throws for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Heading into the new season, longtime insider Mary Kay Cabot put the reality plainly on The Ken Carman Show, claiming that production will decide this quarterback race instead of money.
The video quickly racked up reactions across social media, and the tone leaned supportive rather than divided.
One fan wrote, “People busy putting em against each other. I just want to win games man.”
Another added, “This is what I love, no bad blood no hard feelings high on the ball eye on the price.”
A third viewer penned, “They work harder in one hour than [Rizzo] does ina week.”
The fourth one claimed, “Best QB room in the league. 💯”
A fifth fan added, “If Shedeur is not QB1 on Day 1 those fans are gonna riot.”
A sixth simply wrote, “Offseason grind never stops. 🔥”
Sanders is the guy waiting in the wings to take Watson’s job. He showed some real flashes of talent last season, and his numbers definitely would have looked better over those seven games if he hadn’t been thrown into the fire so fast after Dillon Gabriel’s concussion.
But going into this year, he’s had a full offseason to train in actual pro facilities and get used to an NFL environment. Because of that, there’s no doubt he’s going to be a much better option to replace Watson.
The good news is that whoever wins the starting spot, Cleveland’s quarterbacks are at least starting training camp on the same page.
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