If an NFL fan turns on any sports talk show, scrolls through a social media timeline, or heads to an NFL site, they will likely encounter something about the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback battle. The ongoing competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders has been one of the league’s most talked-about training camp storylines.
From everyone weighing in on who they think will win the battle, to every throw and rep being dissected, plenty of people are eager to know who will start the season under center in Cleveland. Then, there are the skeptics who are convinced the entire battle is for show, and the Browns already know who will be their first starting quarterback.
While that’s a bit of a strong accusation, especially considering how meticulous Cleveland has been about splitting the reps between Watson and Sanders, it’s not an outlandish conclusion to jump to. Considering all the information Browns fans have been fed since the ending of last season, they are well within their rights as fans to question if Cleveland has been locked in on Deshaun Watson as their starter all along.
Fans are skeptical that Browns will name Deshaun Watson starter regardless of camp battle
It’s important to note that Cleveland hasn’t named a starter yet, and head coach Todd Monken is adamant that the battle is still tight, with the preseason games factoring heavily into his eventual decision. However, many people believe that the decision isn’t Monken’s at all, arguing that team owner Jimmy Haslam will see to it that Watson starts the year as the starter.
While this assessment of the situation could easily be dismissed as some crazed-fan conspiracy, there has been plenty of credible reporting that gives this idea some legs.
Going back to last season, when Watson first returned to the practice field from injury, there were plenty of reports about how good he looked in practice, and how he would have the chance to reclaim his starting spot in 2026. With the 2025 season not even over at the time, people found this strange, as if the Browns were trying to gently introduce the idea of the quarterback who got booed off the field when he tore his Achilles as the team’s starter.
Watson went from being called a huge swing-and-a-miss by Haslam, to the owner saying the quarterback could turn into a home run with another shot at the plate. Watson echoed that sentiment when he first spoke with the media in the spring, and he also said he never doubted that he would have another chance to be Cleveland’s starter. With the quarterback saying that lack of doubt came from internal conversations, eyebrows were raised, as fans wondered if the veteran was given some promise that he would play again.
From that point, Browns fans went through an offseason of just about every credible NFL insider predicting that Watson will start the year as Cleveland’s starter. People who have spent time in the league as players, coaches, and execs have all come out and said that Watson will likely start because of all the money invested in him.
Former Brown Josh Cribbs even said the starter has been picked, even if Monken hasn’t announced it. While Cribbs didn’t say who that starter is, he insisted that things aren’t totally up in the air like fans are led to believe.
Just recently, veteran reporter Mike Garafolo explained that back in February, the league’s worst-kept secret was that Watson would be the Browns starter. Garafolo detailed that at the Scouting Combine, people were saying, matter-of-factly, that Watson will start.
This is all months before a single OTA or training camp snap, so it’s understandable how people could be skeptical. How could people in the league so confidently say a specific quarterback would start before the team even took the field? The early developments in training camp haven’t helped to quiet that skepticism.
By all accounts, Shedeur Sanders was the best post-snap quarterback for the team through the first week-and-a-half of camp. While the second-year QB worked through some pre-snap struggles, everyone agreed he was the most consistent quarterback with the ball in his hands.
Watson, however, was struggling. The veteran quarterback’s performance was a roller coaster, and he was throwing a ton of interceptions. Despite the rocky showing for Watson, he was rewarded with more top reps. According to Browns reporter Tony Grossi, the franchise was perplexed by Watson’s early struggles, so they decided to give him more work to see if it would help him get in a rhythm.
On one hand, that can be viewed as a phenomenal coaching job, as Cleveland did what was necessary to get the best out of one of its players. On the other hand, one could easily argue that Watson was rewarded for playing poorly, and given a boost, instead of just letting the QB who was playing better naturally separate.
This is all to say that fans shouldn’t be accused of being crazy conspiracy theorists if they want to question how real the battle is; they have been given enough ammunition to provide validity to those questions. Conversely, no one can say that the battle has for sure been rigged in Watson’s favor — it’s not even a guarantee that he will be named the starter.
Everything still has to play itself out, but Browns fans have been given more than enough to think about as they wait to learn who their team’s starting quarterback will be.
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