Browns' Shedeur Sanders receives positive update amid brutal reports about Deshaun Watson competition

Multiple reports from the first full week of August suggested that it is a matter of when and not if first-year Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken will name veteran Deshaun Watson the team's Week 1 starting quarterback over second-year pro Shedeur Sanders. 

For an update posted on Friday, Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer shared some good news for Sanders and for Cleveland fans who don't want to watch Watson play for the club ever again. 

Why Browns' Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson decision isn't yet "easy" 

"Sanders was better than Watson over the first eight days of camp in terms of completing passes and making explosive plays, but Watson was superior in regard to overall operation of the offense," Cabot wrote. "If Watson had connected more with his receivers and thrown fewer interceptions — he threw seven through eight practices, including six in the first four days — the decision would’ve been easy. Monken values a quarterback who can run the show efficiently from the line of scrimmage and handle all of the pre-snap responsibilities. Watson has the decided edge there, but failed to seize the moment through the first six days of camp in terms of finding completions consistently."

Cabot is among those who think that Monken will soon name Watson the starter for Cleveland's preseason opener at the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15. Assuming Monken makes that call as soon as Monday, it's assumed Sanders will start the Browns' home game versus the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22. 

Monken has not yet publicly confirmed this month if he plans to continue the competition through Cleveland's preseason finale against the New England Patriots on Aug. 27. That said, it sounds like Monken isn't yet all that close to naming a Week 1 QB1. 

Browns' Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson decision "will come down to this"

"The QB1 decision will come down to this," Cabot added. "Can Sanders get up to speed quickly enough from an operational standpoint to go along with his elite accuracy and playmaking ability, and can Watson coax enough consistency out of his surgically repaired right arm to pair with his graduate-level game management skills?"

The quarterbacks can begin to answer those questions at Chicago's Soldier Field on Aug. 15.