Browns Nearing Decision On QB Battle

There is a belief around the NFL that Watson has the edge, according to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network. However, Sanders is still very much in the race, per separate reports from Wolfe and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. He will have a chance to make his case on Saturday. Sanders will start and play the first half, Watson will handle the third quarter and No. 3 passer Dillon Gabriel will take over for the fourth.

Watson started the Browns’ preseason opener against the Bears last week and went 11 of 15 for 126 yards. It was the soon-to-be 31-year-old’s first game action since he ruptured his Achilles in a loss to the Bengals on Oct. 20, 2024. Watson re-ruptured it while rehabbing in January 2025, keeping him out for all of last season.

As a fifth-round rookie last year, Sanders was one of three Browns QBs whom then-head coach Kevin Stefanski turned to for starts. Joe Flacco opened the year as the Browns’ QB1, but they traded him to the Bengals in early October. Gabriel, a 2025 third-rounder, was the next man up. The 5-foot-11 left-hander made his first start in Week 5, and though he struggled, he held the role until he suffered a concussion in a loss to the Ravens in Week 11.

Gabriel’s injury opened the door for Sanders, who finished the season as the Browns’ starter. The former Colorado star hardly lit it up. Over eight appearances and seven starts, Sanders completed 56.6% of passes, threw more interceptions than touchdowns (10 to seven), and posted a 68.1 passer rating and a QBR of 18.9. In his 2026 preseason debut last week, he went 6 of 11 for 79 yards and a pick.

Sanders still has a glimmer of a chance to emerge as the Browns’ long-awaited answer under center, but the ship has probably sailed on Watson. Putting Watson’s two Achilles tears aside, the three-time Pro Bowler has not played well since the Browns acquired him from the Texans in 2022.

In possibly the worst trade in NFL history, the Browns gave up a package that included three first-rounders. They doubled down on Watson by handing him a fully guaranteed $230MM on a five-year deal. They took that plunge even though Watson had dozens of sexual assault allegations hanging over him.

Watson, who didn’t play at all in his last year with the Texans, served an 11-game suspension to begin his Browns tenure. Since then, he has made just 19 starts. The Browns have gone 9-10 with Watson at the helm.

Although the Browns went into this past offseason with no clear answer at QB, they did little to address the position. Their only move was to draft sixth-round project Taylen Green, who is unlikely to factor in this year. Monken told Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports that avoiding free agent and trade acquisitions was part of the rebuilding team’s plan.

“We made a decision as an organization, ‘Hey, let’s build the roster. Let’s see where we’re at and then pivot then,’” Monken explained. “That’s why we stuck with the guys that we had. We might as well exhaust every opportunity to see what we have, because it would’ve been a damn shame to not, and (then) someone goes on to play really well (somewhere else). ‘The guy was in our building for God’s sake!’ 

Maybe so, but Watson probably would have been out of the organization by now if not for his anvil of a contract. Unless Watson has an unexpected renaissance, this will likely be his last year with the team. Odds are the Browns will designate Watson a post-June 1 release after the season, enabling them to spread $86.2MM in dead money from 2027-28.

In the nearer term, Watson is hoping for another chance to start in Cleveland. He and Sanders could find out their fates in the next couple of days, Fowler relays. Monken, who will meet with his staff on Sunday, may choose a starter by Monday.