'Everybody' reportedly knows Browns want to make this Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson decision

A recent report indicated that 2025 rookie Shedeur Sanders closed the gap in the competition with Deshaun Watson for the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback job "in the last two weeks of practices." That wrapped up when the club's mandatory minicamp came to an end this past Thursday. 

That said, NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US revealed for an update shared on Monday that certain in-the-know individuals think Watson may still be on track to be named Cleveland's Week 1 QB1.

Will money impact Browns' Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders decision?

"But around the league," La Canfora explained, "there is a strong sense that ownership will make it quite clear that they are not paying Deshaun Watson another $46M to sit on the bench at the conclusion of his contract that will pay out $230M (all of it fully guaranteed at signing). And even if Shedeur Sanders seems to be a viable option through preseason games, the threshold for him to beat out Watson will be viewed by management through a financial prism."

Of course, La Canfora was referencing the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract that the Browns gave Watson as part of acquiring him from the Houston Texans in March 2022. Watson has since made just 19 regular-season starts, and he hasn't played since he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during a game in October 2024.

Watson later reinjured his Achilles during his recovery, but Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer recently mentioned that the 30-year-old "is moving well after having two Achilles surgeries." 

"Everybody" knows Browns ownership wants this Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders outcome

According to La Canfora, "numerous sources" who know first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken recently said that Monken "is very much interested in seeing what Sanders can do in his second season in the league." 

However, one unnamed general manager told La Canfora that "everybody in that building knows" that Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam "wants Watson to play and try to earn that money." 

"Unless Sanders so out-distances himself from Watson," La Canfora added, "and keep in mind this is a tanking/rebuilding team that lacks the kind of offensive personnel that’s going to lift a novice QB, to a degree that just doesn’t seem likely, other front offices continue to see this as a competition in name only. ...If Watson stays healthy, we expect the job to be his."

Sanders should receive a chance to "out-distance himself from Watson" when the Browns open the preseason with a game at the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15.