Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken made an unpopular but somewhat predictable quarterback decision. He'll roll with Deshaun Watson as his starter, at least for the first stretch of the season, after what was an underwhelming competition.
Most fans and analysts argued that Shedeur Sanders looked much better in the preseason games despite not playing with the starters, but Monken and the Browns' decision-makers think the veteran gives them a better shot at winning.
While that call ruffled some feathers among the fan base, especially after Watson's tone-deaf post-game rant, team legend Joel Bitonio actually agreed with the decision.
In a recent appearance on the Bearded Browns podcast, he shared his two cents on why Sanders still needs to sit and continue to learn the ropes of the position:
"I thought we saw in the preseason his development from last year. I thought he looked, to me, significantly better," Bitonio said. "But if you look at the little things, like time to throw and pocket awareness and just — the guys get open and he makes a big play when they're open but there's a little bit of just, like, anticipation and time to throw. As a lineman, it sucks, but if you're taking over three seconds to throw in the league, like, I don't care if you have five Joe Thomases in front of you. It is tough to handle."
Joel Bitonio sees one major flaw Shedeur Sanders still needs to fix
Most fans should agree that Bitonio probably knows more ball than the average person. As someone who had to block for Sanders last season and watched him grow and play in practice, his words definitely cannot go unnoticed.
Of course, no one who has watched Sanders play will say he's a perfect quarterback or 100 percent ready to lead the franchise. That's beside the point. It's more about whether he's the better option than Watson right now.
Fans and journalists seemed to agree that Watson didn't look good in training camp, but they don't know the play-calls, designs, or what the coaching staff specifically wanted to see from him.
That doesn't necessarily mean Monken made the right call. Regardless of how many data points the coaching staff has, or how much they've seen of him since spring workouts, it's still hard to fathom that they truly think Watson can lead a winning football team. It's almost impossible to justify.
Sanders will most likely still get an opportunity, and Bitonio is just laying out the blueprint and letting him know what he needs to be better at. Progress and development aren't linear, but he will at least get some more time to be ready for when his number is called.
Bitonio took his time to decide whether to return for another season, and he didn't sound too excited about having to block for 3-plus seconds after playing left guard for Sanders in 2025.
Fans may not agree with him, but it's hard to argue with the source.
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