The Cleveland Browns opened the 2026 season in the most predictable way possible, going to Jacksonville with Deshaun Watson as the starting quarterback (Shedeur Sanders as the QB2), and getting their doors blown off, 34-10, in a game that started with a Watson interception and pretty much stayed on that level for the rest of the afternoon. Watson’s numbers were not terrible (16-for-22, 205 yards, one interception and one touchdown) but anyone who watched that game could see a quarterback who was jumpy, lacking in confidence and looking very much like a player who had not played an NFL game in nearly two years.
Which is odd, because the Browns also have on the roster a 24-year-old quarterback who did play last year, and who managed to win three games in seven starts. That would be Sanders. If the way that training camp unfolded for the Browns was puzzling, with the team consistently leaning toward giving the job to Watson despite his obvious struggles, the game against the Jaguars confirmed that the puzzlement was merited.
Browns Should Start ‘Shedeur Sanders Era’
Now, the Browns are back where they were a year ago, with a starting quarterback who is in over his head and with throngs of observers wondering why, exactly, Cleveland refuses to turn to Sanders. Even before Sunday was over, the calls for Sanders were piling up.
Start with former star running back LeSean McCoy, on “The Speakeasy” podcast. Here’s how he saw the Browns’ situation:
“Why we playing around? … Put Shedeur Sanders in the game. It’s time. It’s time for Shedeur because, bro, we are gonna keep watching the same exact thing. This is the same thing as when he was playing last year, same thing with the end of the preseason, same thing I was hearing what was going on with camp. What’s changed? That it’s the real season now? No. 4 is not good, simple as that. I know you pay him a lot of money, and I get that, man, but he’s not the first person to get paid a lot of money that’s not good.
“It’s time to let Shedeur Sanders start. Let his era begin.”
Browns’ Todd Monken ‘Gotta Make a Change’
Closer to home, ESPN Cleveland host Tony Rizzo pleased with Browns head coach Todd Monken to make the change to Sanders. Monken did not directly address possibly changing quarterbacks on Sunday.
Said Rizzo: “You’re gonna waltz him out there again? You have no chance to win. And I feel for Watson. I know a lot of you hate him, and that’s your business. But he’s a human being. I am going to tell you something, man. That guy is spent, shot—shot, his confidence, shot. It’s a mental thing. It’s really not even a physical thing at this point. He is not seeing the field, he is not trusting himself, his eyes.
“Monken, you gotta make a change. I gotta see the kid. I don’t know, the kid had split reps, he didn’t have first-team reps in a month. I don’t know what to expect from him, but you’ve got to give him the practice week. You’ve got to—you have no chance, you have no chance with that offense in Tampa (in Week 2).”
Shedeur Sanders Has Upside
And Browns beat reporter Daryl Ruiter had no answer, either. Sanders certainly has holes in his game, in terms of pre-snap organization and decision-making, and getting rid of the ball quickly, but at his age, and with some of his raw ability that he’s shown, there is far more room for improvement than with the now 30-year-old Watson.
Ruiter suspects there is more than meets the eye with the Browns’ situation.
He said: “I would rather watch Shedeur Sanders play right now, I have no interest in Deshaun Watson. And yesterday was the perfect example why. There’s no upside to this guy, there’s nothing to gain. … Why on earth did Shedeur Sanders not win that quarterback job, why wouldn’t they start Shedeur Sanders out of the gate? There has to be something that we just don’t know about.
“I don’t think there was a tremendous separator in training camp and in the preseason between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Preseason, Shedeur played better, that is undeniable.”
Browns Shedeur Sanders Clamor Grows After Week 1 Disaster