The Browns Might Be Changing Their Minds On Starting Quarterback Already

The Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback battle is shaping up to produce one of the most intriguing storylines this NFL offseason.

In one corner the Browns have Shedeur Sanders, who completed 56.6% of his passes as a rookie for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In the other corner the team has Deshaun Watson, who has only appeared in 19 games since 2022. The former Pro Bowl quarterback has thrown for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns during that stretch.

Earlier this offseason, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com suggested that Watson is the favorite to win the job for Week 1.

“With my breaking news here that Deshaun Watson has taken the lead over Shedeur Sanders in the Browns QB competition and has the inside track to win it, I think they should declare him QB1 asap and let the 1st team offense start to cook,” Cabot wrote. “There’s no time to waste."

During an appearance on 92.3 The Fan this Thursday morning, Cabot provided an update on Cleveland's quarterback battle. She said Sanders has performed so well recently that he's giving Browns coach Todd Monken something to think about.

"I think Shedeur has come on so strong in the last few weeks that it's making them think maybe we should see what he can do in training camp before we decide that perhaps Deshaun Watson is QB1," Cabot said.

Shedeur is giving the Browns a much-needed boost.

Cabot reported that Sanders ran the first-team offense during "virtually every competitive drill" during Cleveland's eighth OTA practice. The energy surrounding the second-year quarterback was apparently undeniable.

“I felt there was a paradigm shift today in this whole thing I did,” said Cabot. “It just felt like things were different today.”

That's certainly a great sign for Sanders, who hasn't lost any confidence this offseason.

Only time will tell if Sanders can beat Watson in the race for the Week 1 job.