With the Minnesota Vikings' decision to roll with Kyler Murray over J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. still sidelined as he recovers from a torn ACL, the NFL world has one quarterback battle to zero in on. The Cleveland Browns are evaluating whether Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders should be their starting signal-caller, and the battle has now drifted into the preseason.
Watson has been a disaster since Cleveland traded for him four years ago. The Browns signed him to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal, and he responded by posting the worst completion percentage, yards per attempt and TD-INT ratio in the NFL since leaving the Texans. It has been more than 2,000 days since Watson threw for 300 yards in an NFL game.
The retired Tom Brady has 14 300-yard games since Watson's last one. There is just one year remaining on Watson's contract, but he hasn't played in a regular-season game since Oct. 20, 2024, due to two torn Achilles. Sanders, on the other hand, sparked some optimism after the benchings of Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel last year.
He won three of Cleveland's five games and made the Pro Bowl as an alternate. However, Sanders' 10 interceptions since his NFL debut in Week 11 were the most in the NFL, and his 57% completion percentage ranked second-worst. As a prospect, Sanders was criticized for holding onto the ball too long and having a slow throwing operation.
Those issues definitely showed up during his rookie season. These quarterbacks received the majority of reps during the Browns' first preseason game, a 34-10 loss to the Bears in Chicago. Let's examine how they fared.
Watson played the entire first half for the Browns and completed 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards. He was sacked once, resulting in a fumble, and scrambled three times for four yards. Head coach Todd Monken didn't allow Watson to throw the ball on Cleveland's first possession, as three straight Quinshon Judkins runs resulted in a three-and-out.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
