Shedeur Sanders is heading into training camp knowing exactly where he stands on Cleveland’s depth chart, and it’s not where a lot of Browns fans wanted him. After throwing for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns across eight starts as a rookie last season, Sanders became the guy fans were pushing for, but Todd Monken went a different direction.
Deshaun Watson has the job, and Sanders is splitting reps with the scout team heading into Week 1. Watson’s tenure in Cleveland hasn’t gone the way anyone in the building expected since he arrived in 2022. Injuries have kept him to just 19 games as a Brown, and the numbers haven’t done much to quiet the doubters either – an 80.7 passer rating, 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
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Fans made their frustration known too, booing him during a preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills at home. Monken has said the boos won’t change how he handles his quarterback room, and he’s sticking with that.
But not everyone around the team is convinced the picture stays this way all season. Browns reporter Daryl Ruiter, appearing on 92.3 The Fan, said he didn’t see much of a gap between Watson and Sanders in camp.
“I just didn’t see much separation between the two guys,” Ruiter said. He added, “I think that Deshaun is more ready to play than Shedeur. But I think Shedeur, by the time we get into the season here, that can change. I think Shedeur will be ready to play, and ultimately this thing’s going to get turned over to him at some point, for one reason or another.”
There’s also a third name worth watching in that quarterback room. Rookie Taylen Green flashed some real upside in the preseason finale against the Patriots, and his college tape backs it up – 2,714 passing yards and 777 rushing yards at Arkansas last season, good for 27 total touchdowns.
If that dual-threat ability shows up on Sundays, Green could push his way into the backup conversation behind Watson before long.
For now, the job belongs to Watson, and Cleveland opens its season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, September 13.
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