New NFL Rumors on Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, Who Has 'Inside Track' in Browns QB Battle

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has the "inside track" on being named the team's starter for the 2026 season over second-year pros Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, per Mary Kay Cabot for Cleveland.com:

"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, sources tell cleveland.com.

"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.

"But he's 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."

Watson has missed the past year-and-a-half after suffering a torn Achilles against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 20, 2024 and then re-tearing the Achilles after rolling his ankle in Miami, per a team report. He underwent a second surgery in Jan. 2025 and missed the 2025 season.

Head coach Todd Monken is now in charge after the Browns parted ways with Kevin Stefanski, who is now the Atlanta Falcons' head coach. Monken, the Baltimore Ravens' former offensive coordinator, is running a new show, and there's presumably a clean slate for all aboard as he looks to implement his own offensive system and policies.

Watson apparently has the edge based on merit during the team's three-day voluntary minicamp. Cabot stated that only one of the three minicamp days was open to the public, and it appears Watson performed the best:

"...Watson won the day with quicker decision-making, better performance in the pre-snap process, and more efficiency in the passing game. The plan that day was to let Sanders go first in team drills and get more reps, but Watson ended up with more snaps because of how he handled himself in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. Sanders did get the first starting reps in 11-on-11s that day as planned, but Watson accumulated more as the day wore on based on merit."

Cabot also stated that Watson will "likely maintain" the edge on the competition because he's a veteran quarterback and the Browns have a young offense with new personnel. Of note, Cleveland is expected to have an entirely new offensive line.

Sanders appears to be the clear choice as second in line. Gabriel is also in the competition, but he did not get any first-team reps, per Cabot. Gabriel, the team's third-round pick in 2025, started six games for the Browns last year but unfortunately suffered a concussion. Sanders took over as the starter and remained QB1 even after Gabriel was cleared.

So, as of now, Watson appears to have the clear edge as the Browns look to get the Monken era off to a good start.