Browns’ Watson-Sanders Quarterback Competition Still Has No Winner Before Preseason Opener
The Cleveland Browns still don’t know who their starting quarterback will be, and that’s by design. With the team’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears set for Saturday, head coach Todd Monken has kept the Browns quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders wide open, splitting first-team reps between the two rather than picking a clear frontrunner.
The rotation has flipped more than once in the past two weeks. On August 8, Watson took every first-team rep during a practice that Monken had publicly said belonged to Sanders. Asked about the switch three days later, Monken gave a simple explanation. “When I walked out, guys grabbed me and said, ‘Hey, the last couple days we’ve been looking at it, and Shedeur has gotten a few more reps with the ones,’ that’s all it was,” Monken said, according to Sports Illustrated.
Sanders got his turn back the following Monday, running with the starting offense while Watson worked with the No. 2 group, per ESPN. Monken framed it plainly: “As long as we’re still sharing reps, it’s a competition.”
Watson Speaks on Staying Focused
Watson has tried to keep the noise outside the building this camp. Speaking with reporters, he addressed the scrutiny that has followed him since 2022, when he was accused by more than two dozen women of misconduct during massage therapy sessions. He was never criminally charged, settled the majority of the civil cases, and served an 11-game suspension from the league.
“I have a clear vision. I have a clear mind. I think the world knows what I went through — it’s no secret off the field. And then on the field also with injuries. So I think anybody that had what I went through would be in a different spot maybe. I’m mentally tough and dealt with it as best as I possibly could to be able to be standing here talking with you guys.”
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com posted the quote on X:
#Browns Deshaun Watson, asked if he’s practicing better than ever, described dealing with off field issues and injuries: pic.twitter.com/sIKpTvFPgf
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 12, 2026
The injuries Watson referenced are real and recent. He tore his Achilles tendon during the 2024 season, then aggravated the injury months later, which wiped out his entire 2025 campaign. He’s now practicing fully for the first time in nearly two years, and by most camp reports, he’s looked capable of it — connecting on deep shots and moving well in team drills.
Why the Money Complicates Things
Watson is entering the final guaranteed year of the five-year, $230 million contract he signed after Cleveland traded for him in 2022 — still the largest fully guaranteed deal in NFL history. According to Over The Cap, his 2026 cap number sits at $80.7 million, the highest single-season cap hit any player has ever carried. Cutting him would have cost the Browns even more in dead money, which is part of why Cleveland restructured his deal again in March rather than moving on.
That financial reality doesn’t decide who starts Week 1, but it’s the backdrop every conversation about this competition happens against. A $230 million investment sitting on the bench is not a small thing for an organization to explain to ownership, even if the money is already spent either way.
| Quarterback | Contract Status | 2026 Cap Hit | Availability Entering 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deshaun Watson | Final guaranteed year of 5-yr, $230M deal | $80.7 million | Missed all of 2025 (Achilles) |
| Shedeur Sanders | Rookie deal (2025 draft) | Rookie scale | Available all of 2025 as backup/spot starter |
What’s Next
Cleveland’s unofficial depth chart, released this week, still lists the top spot as “Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders,” according to a post from Mary Kay Cabot on X. Monken has said both quarterbacks will get a start during the preseason — one Saturday against the Bears at Soldier Field, the other likely in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills on August 22 — before he names a starter ahead of the preseason finale against New England.
The Browns open their regular season on September 13 on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Whoever Monken taps by then will be doing it with a young, retooled roster around him — a rebuilt offensive line and a receiver room that added rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston this offseason, both of whom have drawn praise in camp reports.
For now, neither quarterback has separated himself enough to end the conversation. That’s likely to continue through both preseason starts.
