Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson QB1 Battle Updated in Latest Browns Rumors Before Training Camp

Deshaun Watson has been the early frontrunner in the Cleveland Browns' mildly depressing quarterback battle, but Shedeur Sanders is perhaps making up ground.

"This is a true, heated battle, and this one's only going to heat up in training camp. As was told to me, Deshaun Watson went into the spring as the clear favorite, and then Shedeur Sanders has bridged the gap at least somewhat," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on Thursday's NFL Live. "I still believe Watson's in a good position. I'm told he was moving like a major athlete again coming off those Achilles tears. He's moving well, he's fluid, looks like the athlete of old to most extents. But Sanders was decisive, I was told he's got a presence about him that the coaching staff noticed that they might have underestimated a little bit. So I expect this to go into preseason games, you're gonna see multiple weeks of this."

Dillon Gabriel is also on the Browns.

Watson, 30, last played in the 2024 season, throwing for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 63.4 percent of his passes, taking 33 sacks and leading Cleveland to a 1-6 record in his seven starts.

In four seasons with the Browns, he's played in just 19 total games, gone 9-10 as the starter and earned an average annual salary of $46 million as part of his fully guaranteed deal. Not great!

Sanders, 24, didn't exactly light the NFL on fire in his eight games (seven starts) last season, throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing just 56.6 percent of his passes and taking 23 sacks. He at least provided something of a spark, however, going 3-4 as the starter (the Browns were 2-8 in the games he didn't start).

Somebody is going to win this quarterback battle, though they'll probably just be keeping the seat warm for Arch Manning or Dante Moore.