The Browns are moving toward a quarterback decision, and Deshaun Watson appears to have the inside track to be named the starter. Shedeur Sanders, meanwhile, has earned the right to open this weekend’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
That is why Joe Thomas is drawing searches now: the race has shifted from speculation to timing. Todd Monken has been hinting at Watson as his choice for weeks, but the coach also acknowledged that the competition has been close enough for Sanders to keep his place in the conversation. For Cleveland, the choice matters because the offense is still looking for stability at the most important position on the field.
Watson is also the longest-tenured player on the offense, and his $230 million guaranteed contract makes the direction here impossible to ignore. In January, Todd Monken was hired as head coach, and the Browns are now onto their second head coach and fourth offensive coordinator while searching for the old Watson. That is the backdrop for every snap now, because this is no longer just about one preseason series or one strong throw. It is about whether Cleveland believes it has found enough to stop looking.
Sanders has given the Browns enough to keep the pressure on. He is preparing for his biggest test this week at the joint practice with the Bills, and his preseason opener had both the promise and the mistakes that define a quarterback fight that is still alive. He threw a 35-yard strike to Luke Floreia, but he also had a fumbled snap, a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage and an interception on a badly overthrown pass. That left him ranked 35th out of 35 quarterbacks, a reminder that flashes are not yet the same thing as control.
Watson was not terrible in the preseason opener, but the details were mixed. Forty-three of his 126 passing yards came on a simple screen to Dylan Sampson, and the final three possessions under him ended with a lost fumble and two punts. One of those series was a disastrous two-minute drive that lasted only 30 seconds. The Browns also got 72 all-purpose yards on five touches from KC Concepcion, proof that the playmakers around the quarterback may matter as much as the quarterback himself.
That is the real edge in this decision. If either quarterback is going to have even a modicum of success this season, it will likely be because of the playmakers around him, and Cleveland may need that support more than most teams. The Browns’ leading receiver is a tight end drafted in the 1970s, which says plenty about how much help the passing game still needs. Watson may end up getting the first job, but Sanders has already earned the next chance to force a harder conversation before the regular season begins.
