How Shedeur Sanders surprised Browns coaches amid springtime competition vs. Deshaun Watson

It was suggested in April that first-year Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken would almost certainly name veteran Deshaun Watson the team's starting quarterback shortly after the club's mandatory minicamp wrapped up on June 11. 

However, 2025 rookie Shedeur Sanders closed the gap in the competition for the QB1 gig so much that Monken is now on track to keep the battle going through at least Cleveland's preseason opener at the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15. During Thursday's edition of ESPN's "NFL Live" program, league insider Jeremy Fowler hinted that Monken and Co. didn't expect Sanders to perform as well as he did during the final few weeks of the offseason program. 

Browns coaches "underestimated" this about Shedeur Sanders

"Shedeur was decisive," Fowler explained. "I was told that he's got a presence about him that the new coaching staff noticed that they might have underestimated a little bit. So, I expect this to go into preseason games. You're going to see multiple weeks of this in Berea, [Sanders and Watson] going at it." 

Numerous reports shared this week have indicated the Browns have little to no interest in taking a flier on former Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Brendan Sorsby during the upcoming supplemental draft. Thus, either Sanders or Watson should emerge as Cleveland's Week 1 QB1 at some point in August. 

Deshaun Watson still "in a good position" to defeat Shedeur Sanders in QB competition 

Earlier this week, it was reported that "everybody in that building knows" that Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam "wants Watson to play and try to earn" what's left of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract that the Browns gave Watson as part of acquiring him from the Houston Texans in March 2022. Fowler suggested that Watson still holds the lead over Sanders in the competition for the starting job. 

"As was told to me," Fowler said, "Deshaun Watson went into the spring as the clear favorite, and that Shedeur Sanders has bridged the gap at least somewhat. I still believe Deshaun Watson's in a good position. I'm told he was moving like a major athlete again, coming off those Achilles tears. He's moving well, he's fluid, looks like the athlete of old to most extent." 

Watson hasn't played since he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during a game in October 2024, as he later reinjured his Achilles during his recovery. Nevertheless, it sounds like he still has a decent chance of eventually getting the nod for Cleveland's Week 1 game at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13.