Browns’ QB competition between Sanders and Watson still in early stages

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Shedeur Sanders knows he is battling for the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback job with Deshaun Watson.

However, he does not want to discuss how it is going.

“I answered this question a thousand times. We focus on ourselves and what we do and what we need to do to get better every day. So that’s just something y’all think about, and y’all care about,” said Sanders on Saturday when asked if he is viewing each practice as a battle between him and Watson.

The competition for QB1 is not expected to be settled until at least after the second exhibition game against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22. Coach Todd Monken said both are doing fine, though evaluations will not ramp up until the offense is fully installed.

Saturday marked the halfway point of eight days of installations. The Browns will be off Sunday before six straight days of practice, including the first day in pads on Monday.

“I don’t think you’re really going to know until you get through all the installs because we’re not game planning against our defense,” Monken said. “One day you go with the ones, the other day you go with the twos. Certainly that matchup’s going to be different in terms of who you’re going against. I think the most important thing is from a process standpoint: how are we operating at the line of scrimmage? Where are their eyes? Are they taking command of one, the huddle, and then cadence and then understanding the concepts? All of our players are working through mistakes and fighting like hell to get better.”

After being buried on the depth chart during last year’s training camp, Sanders is splitting snaps with Watson on the first team, alternating days. One day, Watson throws to veterans Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman; the next, to rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.

Watson said it can be difficult switching between different units because it is hard to build a rhythm, but it is the quarterback’s job to adapt.

“You’ve got to be a leader out there, and you’ve got to bring everybody to that standard, and you all have to play that way,” he said. “So regardless of what group you’re in or who you’re in there with, you’ve got to make sure you execute at a high level. It’s definitely challenging, but at the same time, you can’t make that an excuse.”

Sanders noted he has improved most in recognizing things pre-snap and post-snap, and feels more consistent in his approach.

After falling to the fifth round and 144th pick in the 2025 draft, Sanders started the final seven games of his rookie season, going 3-4 with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

“He’s definitely improved; he’s grown a lot. You can see it within his fundamentals, his reads, being able to execute, call the plays,” Watson said about Sanders. “You can tell he’s a lot more comfortable, and that he’s been putting in the work to be able to be where he is right now.”

Watson is looking forward to playing in the preseason games, which begin on Aug. 15 at Chicago. He has played in only 19 games since being acquired by the Browns from the Houston Texans in 2022 for three first-round picks.

In 2022, Watson missed the first 11 games because of a league suspension resulting from his alleged sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. He made six starts in 2023 before a season-ending shoulder injury and started seven in 2024 before the first of two Achilles tendon injuries.

“I’ve just got to continue to build that football shape. I think that’s the biggest thing I’m working on through this process each day, just trying to build that endurance because it’s been a while since I’ve really been on the field with 11-on-11,” said Watson, who is 9-10 with the Browns with 19 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and an 80.7 passer rating. “I feel very comfortable, very strong, fluent. Now it’s just building trust within the receivers, because everyone runs different routes and we have different types of guys.”

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