Shedeur Sanders' 'Aura' Highlighted by Browns Insiders in Rumors amid QB1 Battle vs. Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders has displayed something tangible to his coaches as he tries to claim the starting job ahead of the regular season.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday on SportsCenter the QB battle "is essentially over" following the Browns' second preseason game. It's unclear where coach Todd Monken will go, but Sanders has made a positive impression.

"I will say about Shedeur Sanders, when I talk to people with the Browns, the word 'presence,' the word 'aura,' comes up," Fowler said. "Like he has something to him that has certainly helped his cause. And he played well yesterday. So, he's made a compelling case at the very least here. But we'll see, Deshaun Watson has had momentum for a couple of weeks. So, do they just stick with that or did yesterday change things in a big way? Monken's got to find that out."

The NFL insider reported Monken could make up his mind by Monday.

Sanders outplayed Watson in Saturday's 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He finished 9-of-11 for 74 yards, one touchdown and an interception, while Watson went 5-of-12 for 36 yards and one pick.

But that followed Watson having the stronger showing in Cleveland's preseason opener.

In general, neither quarterback has gone above and beyond between the two games. Here are their total numbers.

Player	Yards	CMP%	Avg.	TD	INT
Deshaun Watson	162	59.3	6.0	0	1
Shedeur Sanders	153	68.2	7.0	1	2

Factors unrelated to their performance could play a big role in Monken's decision.

Watson drew boos from the home fans at Huntington Bank Field. They've completely turned against the three-time Pro Bowler thanks to how disastrous his trade to Cleveland has been.

Watson didn't hold back in his post-game press conference when addressing the fan reaction.

"It has nothing to do about the performance," he told reporters. "It's a little bit personal. I think that's a disrespectful thing. I'm going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. Just move on."

Given how much his game has declined since arriving in Cleveland, starting Watson was already a suboptimal solution to the team's quarterback situation. Now, it's even harder to envision him leading the offense.

"This is not the punctuation that [Watson] wanted on this quarterback battle because the feeling out of Cleveland, and I spent a day there this week, because Deshaun Watson had some momentum," Fowler said. "He had a couple of good weeks here, stacked some good plays together, he was getting some prominent reps in the practices against the Bills in that joint practice. So, now the Browns have to weigh what happened on the field with Watson and also what he said at that press conference. Is he in a good space to be the leader for this team?"

Sanders doesn't have the same kind of baggage as Watson, and the 24-year-old may have more upside than he showed as a rookie in 2025.

Maybe Sanders isn't the future of the QB position for the Browns, but starting him in Week 1 is probably the best call at this point.