Getty

Todd Monken of the Cleveland Browns is overseeing a Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders QB battle.

It’s late April, so NFL fans everywhere, including those of the Cleveland Browns, should take most of what they hear at this time with a sizable grain of salt. Things change quickly, and we are still more than four months and the entirety of training camp away from Week 1 of the NFL season. Clues, bread crumbs and Easter eggs abound as to who will be the Browns starting quarterback–presumably Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders–at that point, but as of now, nothing has been decided.

Many have tabbed Sanders the favorite in the QB1 race, which makes sense for multiple reasons. He had his struggles but he was the quarterback to end last season, and finished with a 3-4 record for a team that otherwise went 2-8. He is also six years younger than the 30-year-old Watson, which means that if Sanders shows enough promise to be a better-than-league-average quarterback, he could be the answer at quarterback, long-term.

Watson is tough to trust, just from a physical standpoint. He has torn his Achilles tendon twice in the past two years and has not played since October of 2024. Additionally, he was terrible in the seven games he did play in that season. Still, there is a sense around the Browns that the team really, really wants Watson to win the job.

Browns Have Deshaun Watson Motivation?

Why? Probably because it might save some face for the Browns as an organization, who traded for Watson and gave him what has become known as the worst contract in NFL history–a five-year, $230 million deal with every dollar fully guaranteed. Watson has repaid them with just 19 starts since arriving in Cleveland in 2022.

Sound like a conspiracy theory. But the notion that the Browns want Watson  to be The Guy this offseason gained some more traction when prominent radio host Tony Rizzo of ESPN Cleveland made a surprise revelation on Monday.

Speaking in an on-air discussion about the quarterback race, Rizzo said, “I heard Deshaun took the majority of the reps on Wednesday when (the media) were not allowed to watch practice and he looked phenomenal.”

Todd Monken Non-Committal on QB Battle

Last week, the Browns had the opening of their voluntary offseason workouts. While the media had the chance to interview Browns quarterbacks Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, they did not get a chance to talk to Deshaun Watson. And though parts of the camp were open, much of the real work was closed off to the media, which is standard for NFL practices.

Head coach Todd Monken also spoke to the press, and was intentionally vague about the quarterback position.

“I thought they were in command. I never felt at one time like they were lost,” he said. “I thought all the work they put in, the last couple of weeks leading up today, Coach (Mike) Bajakian did a great job with them, prepping them. Coach (Matt) Baker, Ian (Kolste), those guys with quarterbacks to prep them, everything from the meeting rooms again to the walks through here today.

“To me, that’s the start of it. The start of it is how we function, how they lead. Is there a belief system? Who has the ball in their hands every play.”