As the Cleveland Browns trudge forward through their spring workout slate, no topic has grabbed headlines around the team quite like the race to be QB1. Little wonder–the two prime contestants have compelling storylines attached to them. The team and new coach Todd Monken appeared to be leaning toward veteran Deshaun Watson from the get-go, despite him having played just 19 games in his four years with the Browns–even as he is collecting a massive, fully guaranteed $230 million payout–and coming off of two Achilles tendon surgeries.
Watson coming back to play for–and perhaps win for–a fan base that has roundly scorned him for his disastrous tenure would be quite a redemption tale. But then, so would Shedeur Sanders winning back the job he had to finish out last season, when he went 3-4 and showed some promise to close out a disastrous calendar year in which he suffered the biggest drop in NFL draft history, sliding from a potential first-round spot all the way to Round 5.
Again, a fascinating story. Perhaps the big difference is, Sanders has talked about where he is in his story–and Watson, despite multiple opportunities, has not.
Handful of Browns Addressed Media
Maybe that will change on Wednesday when the Browns hold the second of their OTAs that will be open to the media. They had one last Wednesday and while several players faced the Cleveland media afterward–Quincy Williams, Mason Graham, Zion Johnson–Watson was not among them.
Sanders, for his part, addressed reporters in April after the team’s first voluntary workouts. Since then, multiple reports have surfaced suggesting that Sanders is running behind Watson in the race to win the QB1 job.
Deshaun Watson Remains Silent
Mary Kay Cabot, the longtime Browns beat writer for Cleveland.com, pointed out on Tuesday that while much has been said about Watson, we have not heard directly from him in nearly two years. As he attempts to complete his long comeback, it’s probably time he speaks up.
Cabot wrote: “Watson hasn’t addressed the media since before he first ruptured his Achilles in October of 2024, and he’s not expected to talk on Wednesday. If that’s the case, there will be only two more chances before mandatory minicamp: at the Browns Foundation Golf Outing on June 1 and at OTA No. 8 on June 3. If he doesn’t talk either of those times, he might do so during mandatory minicamp, especially if Monken declares him QB1.”
Browns Not Naming Deshaun Watson-Shedeur Sanders Leader
Monken has probably spoken to the media more than he’d like, and while he is always engaging, it’s clear that repeated questions about the state of the quarterback race grate on him–maybe not as much as questions about Myles Garrett, but they clearly bug him.
He had a one-word answer when asked whether he could say who was ahead in the QB race: “No.”
He expounded when given a follow-up: “Nothing’s really changed other than it’s a different day and you’re firing the same questions. I’m not trying to be – I mean, nothing’s really changed. I mean, we’re going to rotate those guys and play the best player and we’ll see.”
Monken has said he wants to have the starter picked by the end of next month’s minicamp. But, he said, he’s not locked into that. “You’d love to have it at every position at the end of spring, but you can’t guarantee that. We’ll have it set for Jacksonville (Week 1),” he said.
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