Todd Monken told the Browns on Wednesday that Deshaun Watson will start the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Saturday, giving the quarterback battle its first clear checkpoint of the summer. Shedeur Sanders will get the second preseason game on Aug. 22 against the Buffalo Bills, but the split only settles who opens which night, not how long either man will stay on the field.
That is why the Browns Depth Chart is being watched so closely now. The club has completed two full weeks of training camp, and several spots on offense are still shifting as the preseason begins. Spencer Fano has taken over at left tackle, Teven Jenkins is ahead of KT Leveston at right guard, and Harold Fannin Jr. has emerged as a rising star at tight end. If healthy, Elgton Jenkins is set to be the starting center, while Parker Brailsford remains out with a hand injury.
The line is still being sorted one piece at a time. When Elgton Jenkins was rested on Wednesday, Luke Wypler and Kingsley Eguakun split the starter’s reps at center. Over the last two practices, Dawand Jones has worked at right tackle with the No. 2 offense, and Austin Barber has been at left tackle. The Browns also plan to use Barber at both tackle spots over their first two preseason games, a sign that the roster is still very much in motion.
Watson’s start does not end the competition with Sanders, and it does not fully answer how the Browns want to handle the preseason opening act. The clearest reading is that Watson gets the first look, Sanders gets the next one, and the real evaluation continues behind them. That uncertainty extends to the backfield, where Quinshon Judkins is the clear lead back, Dylan Sampson was heavily involved in the passing game during the just-completed week of camp, and the Browns probably will not play either one much past the first quarter on Saturday. Rocket Sanders and Ahmani Marshall are expected to handle most of the run-game work, which leaves the roster race wide open in spots beyond the top names.
For now, the Browns have a date, a starter, and a second game mapped out. What they do not yet have is a finished answer at quarterback, and that is the part that makes the next two preseason games matter.
