Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders competition reportedly has clear leader

A recent report indicated that 2025 rookie Shedeur Sanders and veteran Deshaun Watson were on track to "battle for" the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback job through the summer as part of a competition that could also feature 2025 rookie Dillon Gabriel and 2026 sixth-round draft pick Taylen Green.

It sounds like one quarterback has a clear lead in the competition heading into May.

Deshaun Watson has "inside track" to defeat Shedeur Sanders in QB competition?

For a piece published on Wednesday, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer shared that "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 that first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken "hopes to declare — or at least identify — his starter by the end of Browns minicamp June 9-11, meaning Sanders has about six weeks to close the gap and try to overtake the former three-time Pro Bowler." 

Cabot also noted that Sanders has "got plenty of ground to make up, and will have to dazzle the coaching staff to land atop the depth chart heading into training camp."

How Deshaun Watson jumped out to a big lead over Shedeur Sanders

Sanders' stats from his rookie season were hardly impressive, but Watson was arguably the NFL's worst starting quarterback the last time he was Cleveland's QB1. Watson hasn't taken a regular-season snap since he suffered a torn right Achilles in October 2024, as he later reinjured the Achilles during his recovery.  

Back in March 2022, the Browns famously signed Watson to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract.

Cabot reported that Watson outperformed Sanders during the Browns' voluntary minicamp. Watson has also "continued to mentor Sanders and Gabriel to help them assimilate the new scheme," which people within the Browns appreciate. 

"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," Cabot added. "...If the season started tomorrow, Watson would be the starter. Sanders, who [has] made excellent progress this offseason, still has about six weeks to try to come from behind, but his perfect timing might not have arrived just yet."

This past March, Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam raised eyebrows when he said that Watson had "a great chance" to emerge as Cleveland's 2026 Week 1 starter. For better or for worse, Browns fans may want to prepare themselves for that very scenario to play out.

It's currently unclear if the Browns would want Sanders to serve as their QB2 this fall or if they could look to trade him to a would-be buyer.