Shedeur Sanders is heading into the second season of his NFL career, and just like his first, is looking to prove that he is capable of being the starter for the Cleveland Browns.
Unlike last season, when both Dillon Gabriel and Joe Flacco were ahead of him, the consensus out of Cleveland appears to be that it's between Sanders and three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson.
While Sanders earned a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie, he has to prove himself again with Todd Monken taking over as head coach. The former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator spoke to the media on Wednesday regarding the quarterback battle and made it clear that he is still unsure of whom he will go with by the time training camp rolls around.
"In a perfect world, you'd love to have your starting quarterback," said Monken. "You'd love to have your o-line set, I'm not sure we'll be there. I'm just not. I think both quarterbacks have played well enough, where we haven't really been in pads, we haven't played any games yet, haven't really got to that point yet.
"Every day I kind of lean one way or the other with quarterbacks," Monken said. "We still got to get to that point."
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Sanders played in eight games last season, starting seven of them. In those games, the former projected first-round pick turned fifth-round pick led the team to a 3-4 record, throwing for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
As for Watson, he last played in 2024 when he tore his Achilles, which he then re-tore and was forced to miss all of last year. He hasn't played in more than seven games since 2020, yet carries a cap hit of around $45 million this season.
If the battle continues to be neck-and-neck, it wouldn't be shocking to see the more pricey Watson get the initial nod.
