Shedeur Sanders has officially changed Browns' QB competition involving Deshaun Watson

While it's unclear exactly when Monken will feel comfortable naming his starter, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer hinted on Monday that the competition could run through the Browns' first two games of the preseason. Cleveland plays at the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15, and the Browns will later host the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22.

Starting Shedeur Sanders is the better business decision for the Browns to make

While Sanders is signed via an inexpensive rookie contract through the 2028 season, Watson is in the final year of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M deal he received as part of agreeing to join the Browns from the Houston Texans in March 2022. For an article published on Monday, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand noted that Watson and the Browns both "know there is no reasonable pathway to co-existence after this season."

Thus, one would think that Monken and general manager Andrew Berry would prefer to declare Sanders the winner of the competition if he and Watson remain neck-and-neck through the preseason. For now, the fact that Sanders won't automatically be relegated to QB2 duties before the second weekend of June arrives shows he has come on strong from where he was when it was first said in late April that Watson had "the inside track to be named the Browns' QB1."