The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition is no closer to resolved after Saturday night’s preseason tilt with the Buffalo Bills, and that’s the problem. Shedeur Sanders opened the game and flashed early, connecting on all four of his first-quarter attempts for 43 yards and a touchdown, but Deshaun Watson came on after halftime and struggled badly, completing just 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards with an interception. Head coach Todd Monken says he still won’t name a Week 1 starter until early next week, leaving one of the most scrutinized quarterback battles in the league unresolved with the regular-season opener bearing down.
This is the competition Cleveland fans have been bracing for since the offseason. Watson, who signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns back in March 2022, has started just 19 games for the franchise and hasn’t played in a live NFL contest since October 2024, when he tore his right Achilles tendon against the Bengals. That injury turned into a nightmare when the tendon re-ruptured in January 2025, forcing a second surgery and wiping out his entire 2025 season. Sanders, meanwhile, is the polar opposite storyline — a talented prospect who slid all the way to the fifth round of the 2025 draft (144th overall) out of Colorado before landing in Cleveland, then went on to start seven games as a rookie last season, throwing for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions in a 5-12 campaign.
A Split Verdict at Huntington Bank Field
Monken structured this preseason deliberately, giving each quarterback a start in the first two games before deciding who gets the reins for the exhibition finale and, potentially, Week 1. Watson started the preseason opener against the Bears on Aug. 15 and was efficient, going 11 of 15 for 126 yards without a turnover, while Sanders played the same game in relief and threw an interception on 6-of-11 passing. The Bills game flipped the roles: Sanders got the start and moved the offense cleanly in the first quarter, finding Luke Floriea for a touchdown among his four completions, while Watson entered for the third quarter and never found rhythm, finishing with an interception and a 14.6 passer rating in his extended look. Cumulative practice numbers through camp have Sanders completing 68.9% of his throws with 19 touchdowns against four interceptions, compared to Watson’s 66% completion rate with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions — numbers that suggest a genuinely competitive camp rather than a formality.
Monken addressed the timeline directly during Cleveland’s pregame radio show, saying he doesn’t “anticipate the quarterback decision going past early of next week.” That puts the announcement on track for Monday or Tuesday, ahead of Cleveland’s preseason finale against the defending AFC champion Patriots on Aug. 27. It’s a notable shift from Monken’s earlier stance that he’d only commit to naming a starter before the Browns’ regular-season opener at Jacksonville on Sept. 13 — a sign that Saturday’s joint practices and game action gave him enough information to accelerate the call. Bettors tracking the outcome can find the latest lines and market movement at live NFL odds as sportsbooks continue to react to every rep of this competition.
What’s Actually at Stake
The financial and roster complications around Watson make this more than a simple performance evaluation. His contract, restructured again in March 2026, keeps him on Cleveland’s books through 2030, and cutting him before a post-June 1 designation would have triggered a dead cap hit north of $80 million. That reality means Watson isn’t going anywhere regardless of who wins the job, but it also raises the stakes on whether the front office’s massive investment can still produce results on the field. Sanders, by contrast, represents low-cost upside — a player whose rookie tape showed both real flashes, like a 364-yard, three-touchdown outing against Tennessee in December, and the rawness expected of a first-year passer learning on the fly.
Whichever quarterback Monken ultimately picks will inherit a Browns offense trying to rebuild credibility after a 5-12 finish last season. The preseason finale against New England on Aug. 27 now looms as either a final proving ground or a full dress rehearsal for whoever gets the nod, and Cleveland’s decision will set the tone for how the franchise approaches the rest of a QB room that also includes Dillon Gabriel. For a fan base that has watched this position become a source of frustration for years, the answer can’t come soon enough — and if Monken’s timeline holds, it won’t have to wait much longer.
