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Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is the frontrunner to be named the starter.

The Cleveland Browns are being urged to make an immediate decision regarding their quarterback situation and Deshaun Watson.

Prominent Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot reported this week that Watson has taken over as the frontrunner to be the Week 1 starter.

“Deshaun Watson emerged from the Browns’ voluntary minicamp last week with an edge over Shedeur Sanders in the two-man quarterback competition — and has the inside track to be named the Browns QB1,” Cabot said. “The Browns have said that their quarterback decision will be based on performance alone as opposed to development and a potential high pick in next year’s QB-rich draft class, and if the season started tomorrow, Watson would be the starter.”

Cabot doubled down on that report with a message on X, saying the Browns cannot afford to waste any more time on their quarterback decision.

“With my breaking news here that Deshaun Watson has taken the lead over Shedeur Sanders in the Browns QB competition and has the inside track to win it, I think they should declare him QB1 asap and let the 1st team offense start to cook. There’s no time to waste,” Cabot said.

Deshaun Watson Stance Draws Backlash From Browns Reporter

Cabot’s take drew a viral response, with the message receiving more than 1,000 comments. Many were not convinced that Watson had established himself in just a few offseason practices without pads.

“He took the lead in couple of spring practices?” one fan said. “Mary are you sure somebody isn’t just feeding you (expletive) as a joke.”

“This insider information doesn’t seem like it’s coming from the inside. None of this reporting has been accurate since Sanders was drafted. Deshaun hasn’t been good at anything since he left Houston. I doubt that has changed,” another added.

The Sanders family also had something to say about. Shilo Sanders, the older brother of Shedeur, took aim at Cabot over the report.

“Whenever you have your opinion and your opinion is always something hateful to Shedeur, then it makes it seem like it’s something weird, like it’s an agenda that you have going on,” Shilo said.

Browns QB Sheduer Sanders Made Plea for Positivity

For his part, Shedeur Sanders has said all the right things publicly. And when he addressed the media at minicamp, he made a plea for more positivity.

“It’s a new vibe. It’s a new energy. The only thing we missing is y’all,” Sanders said, directing the comment at the assembled media members. “We need y’all to have a new vibe, new energy. I know y’all want us to win, so we need some winning energy here. You know what I’m saying? We can’t have too much negativity going on. You want our players to be the best version of ourselves for y’all, you know? So, I think it’s a community thing.”

It might not be that simple — and the reaction to the latest developments makes that clear. There’s good reason for the skepticism around Watson. What was supposed to be a franchise-defining blockbuster deal for the former Pro Bowler has instead fallen flat. He’s appeared in just 19 games since 2022, missing all of last season. When he has been on the field, the production hasn’t matched expectations.

Meanwhile, Sanders remains something of an unknown after a roller-coaster rookie year. He made seven starts, and while the results were uneven, there’s a growing belief that his upside is worth a longer look.