The Cleveland Browns finally gave us some clarity on the quarterback battle. Deshaun Watson will start the team’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Saturday, according to head coach Todd Monken.
Shedeur Sanders will get his shot in Week 2 of the preseason, starting against the Buffalo Bills on August 22.
The order matters. Watson getting the first look tells you the Browns are still trying to make their $230 million contract work, even after all the injuries and everything that’s gone sideways since he arrived from Houston. This is Cleveland’s chance to see if the version of Watson from before the two Achilles surgeries can be resurrected.
Saturday will be Watson’s first game action since October 2024. That’s when he tore his right Achilles the first time. He had a second Achilles surgery in January 2025 and missed the entire 2025 season. So this isn’t just a routine preseason debut. This is a full return from one of the most complicated injury recoveries in recent NFL history.
For Sanders, this decision is either bad news or the opportunity he needed, depending on how you frame it. On the surface, being named QB2 for preseason Week 1 sends a message. Watson is the incumbent, Sanders has to prove himself, and the coaching staff is going to give the veteran the first look.
But there’s another way to read this. Watson gets one preseason quarter or two, tops. Then he sits. Sanders gets a full game against the Bills where he can command the offense and show he’s ready to take the job. Sometimes going second is actually better than going first in these situations.
Colin Cowherd, notably, has been dismissing the idea that the Browns are somehow trying to sabotage Sanders with this rotation. Cowherd’s take is that it makes total sense to see what you have with Watson first, then give Sanders the extended look against a full defense.
He’s right. The paranoia around Sanders being set up to fail is overblown. This is standard QB battle protocol. Watson is on a much bigger contract and hasn’t played in nearly two years. You have to answer the Watson question first before you can seriously evaluate Sanders as the answer.
What Sanders has to do now is very simple. When his turn comes against Buffalo, he needs to play well. Not just move the ball, but look like a franchise quarterback. Sharp reads, clean throws, decisive pocket presence. Do that, and the debate reopens quickly.
The Browns are in an ugly spot as an organization. They’ve spent years trying to fix the quarterback position and have burned through Baker Mayfield, DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler, and countless others. Watson was supposed to be the answer and hasn’t been. Sanders is the potentially cheap, controllable long-term option.
Todd Monken has to figure this out with his job on the line. Preseason games in Cleveland are going to be about far more than reps and roster depth. They’re auditions for both a starting quarterback and a coaching staff that badly needs a season to point to.
Watson gets first crack on Saturday. Sanders gets his week later. And by early September, the Browns will either have their answer or another mess to sort out during a real regular season game.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
