When Shedeur Sanders vs. Deshaun Watson QB1 Battle Will Be Decided Revealed in New Browns Rumors

As Shedeur Sanders prepares to make his first preseason start on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, the Cleveland Browns could name their Week 1 starting quarterback not long after.

Appearing on the Saturday morning SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Browns head coach Todd Monken could make a decision between Sanders and Deshaun Watson as soon as Monday:

"Shedeur Sanders will get the first half today. I'm told this quarterback battle is still in full swing, even though Deshaun Watson, the veteran, has had some momentum in the last few weeks. What Shedeur does today is a major data point in the process. He won't have all the starters with him, but he will have a few guys with the first-team offense going at it. And I'm told this is how it's going to go; head coach Todd Monken will get through today, he'll get with his staff on Sunday, he'll evaluate all the tape the last few weeks, he'll get input from his staff. I suspect by Monday they should be ready to make a decision on this quarterback battle."

Watson got the start in Cleveland's preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15. He finished 11-of-15 for 126 yards, lost a fumble and led the Browns to 10 points on six drives in the first half.

Sanders came on to start the third quarter and played three drives. He went 6-of-11 for 79 yards with one interception. The Browns went scoreless in the second half with Sanders and Dillon Gabriel running the offense.

Monken has been clear throughout training camp and into preseason that there's not much separating the two quarterbacks. He said on the heels of the Bears game it would be "unfair" not to give Sanders an opportunity to play with at least some of the starters in a game before making a decision:

"Again, I did feel going into last game that it was relatively close in terms of both having an opportunity at the starting position, so it would be unfair to not go into the next game and give Shedeur that same opportunity. Albeit a different team, certainly at home. There's no guarantee the same players will be playing in this game, but it's the closest you have, and we owe it to both players who have handled it well and competed at a high level."

Watson's start against the Bears marked his first appearance in a game since Oct. 20, 2024. He tore his right Achilles two different times, including in January 2025 while rehabbing the original injury.

Sanders started the final seven games for the Browns last season. He threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions in eight appearances as a rookie.

The Browns do have another preseason game after Saturday when they take on the New England Patriots on Aug. 27, but typically teams won't feature many starters in the last game before the regular season.

Given the quick turnaround for that game, as well, it makes sense the Browns coaches would likely want to settle on their starting quarterback sooner than later so they can begin preparing for Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13.