Deshaun Watson has brought his A-game to the table ever since Todd Monken named him the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback over Shedeur Sanders. The pressure was on Watson from the moment he stepped onto the field in the Browns’ season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the veteran has been able to handle it with eye-catching performances that have solidified his status as QB1.
Watson has completed 95 of 148 passes for 1,010 yards and seven touchdowns during the 2026 season, helping the Browns win three of their first five games. Watson’s performances have largely sidelined Sanders, limiting his playing time and sparking trade rumors around the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback. So, will Sanders be traded by the Browns before the NFL trade deadline?
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Mary Kay Cabot, in her latest report, said that isn’t the case, as Sanders is considered to be next in line. Appearing on 92.3 The Fan, she said, “I know that the Browns don’t want to trade him. He’s next in line. He’s next man up, and they always need at least two quarterbacks a year.”
So, based on the reports coming out of Cleveland it feels like Sanders is there to stay. However, it remains uncertain whether Sanders will get another chance to lead the Browns during the 2026 NFL season. A prediction by ESPN’s Seth Walder, however, has stirred the pot ahead of the Browns’ game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Walder had initially predicted that Sanders would play by this point in the season. Despite that prediction not coming to fruition, he still stands by his prediction. He wrote, “The odds have dropped. I had figured the Browns would already be on to Shedeur Sanders by this point.”
“Even though Deshaun Watson hasn’t been quite as bad as expected, I still think that the Browns will make the move to Sanders relatively soon and that an end-of-year stint for Green remains in play,” he added.
This is not a great prediction for Watson, as the Browns are coming off a 17-12 loss to the New York Jets. At this point, it feels like every game is a test for Watson, with Sanders waiting in the wings to replace him.
