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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders may not be the frontrunner for the starting job.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes the Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback race may already have a quiet frontrunner — and it’s Deshaun Watson, not second-year signal-caller Shedeur Sanders or a potential outside addition.
Since arriving in Cleveland via a blockbuster trade in 2022 that cost the Browns three first-round picks, Watson has started just 19 games. Watson has dealt with a shoulder injury and two separate Achilles injuries — the second of which occurred during his rehabilitation from the first, forcing him to miss all of last season.
In those 19 starts, Watson completed 341 of 557 passes for 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns — a modest output for a player commanding a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. Still, Jeremiah said Watson is “the frontrunner to the Browns starting QB.”
What the Browns Have Said About Deshaun Watson
New Browns head coach Todd Monken and general manager Andrew Berry have been careful not to commit to any starter heading into the offseason, though both have made clear the door is open for Watson. At the combine, Monken declared the quarterback room an open competition.
“I don’t know why it wouldn’t be an open competition, and I don’t mean that harshly, but I don’t think there’s enough on film over the last couple years one way or the other to say, ‘Boy, we have a starter at quarterback’ yet, whether internally or externally,” Monken said.
Despite Watson’s injury history, Monken was clear that the veteran would not be written off.
“I think anytime that you have a player that at one time has exhibited the skillset at an elite level, you’re always going to give them the benefit of the doubt that somehow we’re going to be able to get that out of him,” Monken said.
Berry, meanwhile, acknowledged Sanders’ rookie struggles while stopping short of anointing anyone as the answer.
“I think the biggest thing that we want to see from Shedeur is just continued growth. I think he grew a lot from start one to start seven. I think certainly playing more efficiently, not putting the ball in harm’s way as much, would be important,” Berry said.
Shedeur Sanders Still in the Mix for Browns
Monken has been openly complimentary of Sanders since taking over. The fifth-round pick out of Colorado started seven games as a rookie, posting seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability. That’s in him. You’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. You saw it in college. You saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go, but what rookie isn’t? I mean, what first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go? So I’m excited to get started with him and all of our quarterbacks and all of our players,” Monken said.
Monken also noted that Sanders surprised him with his mobility and pocket awareness — traits that could become assets under a new offensive system. Monken has said that he would ideally like to name a starter before training camp but left himself an out.
“You would hope that by the time you get to training camp that the reps you’re giving to a quarterback is for your starter. Whether we get to that place? I don’t know,” Monken said.
J.R. DeGroote JR DeGroote is a staff writer for Heavy.com, where he has covered the NFL, NBA, and trending sports stories since 2019. His work focuses on some of the most passionate fanbases in sports, including reporting on the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers. More about J.R. DeGroote
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