In the months ahead, followers of the Cleveland Browns should be prepared to hear a lot of information, rumors, and opinions about Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. According to most reports, these two are going to battle to claim the role of starting quarterback in 2026, and every move they make will be watched closely.
It’s not obvious who has the upper hand, but a lot of people are giving their insights into the situation.
Appearing on The Bullpen, former NFL QB Shaun King said that he doesn’t believe that Sanders can “outpractice” Watson.
“I don’t think Shedeur can outpractice Deshaun Watson. I think if Shedeur is going to win the competition, it’ll come in his performance in the preseason games. Deshaun Watson looks the part. A lot of times, Shedeur doesn’t. It’s just one of those optics things. Shedeur has more of that grit, dog. I think it’ll be an elongated battle, but I would not be surprised if Deshaun gets all the reviews coming out of practice,” King said.
“I think if Shedeur is gonna win the competition, it’ll come in his performance in the preseason games.”@realshaunking tells @adamthebull he thinks Deshaun Watson will beat Shedeur Sanders in practice, and Sanders will have to win reps 🏈 pic.twitter.com/1Q8MhJg8Q5
— BetRivers Sportsbook (@BetRivers) May 1, 2026
Thankfully for Sanders fans, King didn’t completely count out the idea of him becoming QB1 in the new season; he just doesn’t think that’ll happen because of team practices. Instead, Sanders will have to make his mark in preseason games.
That is a long time to wait because those games aren’t for many months.
Sanders seems to hold the faith and backing of the locker room. However, Watson is coming into this situation with more experience, and that will allow him to learn the new offense at a much faster pace.
A large part of this competition is about skill, but it’s also about experience. Watson has proven that he can perform at a high level in the NFL. Sanders has not.
There remains a lot of ambiguity about the race to be Cleveland’s starting quarterback, but it’s very clear that this is going to be an intense, unpredictable competition.
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Analyst Says Browns’ QB Pick Will Tell Us Everything About Shedeur Sanders