We’re still a month away from the start of training camp, which for the Cleveland Browns, is expected to feature some real competition not just at quarterback, but at other key starting spots such as right guard, center, and nickel corner.
That’s too much time, though, to satiate our need for peak Browns drama. Whether it’s over-the-top takes on Deshaun Watson already winning a quarterback battle that clearly wasn’t decided during OTAs and minicamp, or the team potentially fielding trade calls for Shedeur Sanders, we’ve officially reached silly season.
We haven’t even mentioned ESPN college football analyst Jordan Rodgers giving Brendan Sorsby a higher NFL ceiling than Fernando Mendoza — for no other reason than it’s now late June, and the NFL might hold a supplemental draft next month.
"He's got a higher ceiling than Mendoza and Simpson."
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 22, 2026
—@JRodgers11 on Brendan Sorsby's NFL potential 🏈 pic.twitter.com/ZgVEQDyObn
In his latest appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Zac Jackson of The Athletic attempted to be the voice of reason for Browns fans.
When asked about the prospects of the team going with Watson this season, the longtime Browns reporter put it about as bluntly as humanly possible:
“I think if Deshaun Watson starts the first six games it will be the disaster that it’s always been. They’ll be 1-5 at best. … There's just no upside to playing Deshaun Watson. This team is rebuilding. This team is pointing towards the future. The only thing that makes even a little bit of sense to me is play Shedeur Sanders, let him learn, let him develop, find out about him. Deshaun Watson — you’ve been driving down the wrong road for five years. You’ve got to turn around at some point.”
Zac Jackson sees no upside in the Browns turning back to Deshaun Watson
Jackson wasn’t asked specifically about the now rampant Sanders trade rumors, but his overall point remains the same. Watson may be tethered to the team for the full 2026 season due to his contract, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense to make him the starter.
There’s only one universe where that makes sense — the one where owner Jimmy Haslam wants to save face while paying Watson a fully-guaranteed $46 million, no matter how many snaps he ends up playing in 2026. The idea of going the full five-year term with Watson only to see him play in fewer than 20 games as a Brown would be about as brutal for the Haslam family as it sounds.
But if Cleveland is operating in a universe where new head coach Todd Monken is empowered to make the decision that’s best for the team, then this should be a no-brainer.
To Jackson’s point, Sanders fits the team’s current path perfectly as a developing young quarterback who’s under team control through the 2028 season. The ship sailed on Watson’s future in Cleveland years ago. He’ll mercifully be off the roster in March of 2027, when the Browns can use a post-June 1 designation in what is the scheduled next step in their exit plan.
Placing Sanders on the bench for the first two months of the season wouldn’t make sense, nor would trading him prior to Week 1. The Browns should be wanting to see if he can emerge as the leader of their young offense this season. Based on how close the QB competition seemed to be at the end of spring workouts, the opportunity to do just that should arrive with the start of training camp on July 28.
In the meantime, Browns fans will just have to ride the media waves during these painfully slow weeks on the NFL calendar.
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