Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson’s battle for the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback role received a bold assessment on Tuesday. Amid multiple QB battles, including J.J. McCarthy vs. Kyler Murray in Minnesota, NFL insider Field Yates got honest about the QB clashes in the league.
“I lean towards Shedeur Sanders, because we’ve seen him play most recently,” Yates said. “What I would say, though, is this is the truest quarterback competition in the NFL. What I mean by that is whoever performs best in training camp should be the week one starter.
Thanks for the submission!
“There are other quarterback competitions where if you have a young quarterback and he narrowly outperforms the veteran quarterback in training camp, I still would lean on the veteran early in the season to alleviate some of the pressure on a young player.”
•
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!
Watson enters the final stretch of his historic $230 million fully guaranteed contract coming off a torn Achilles that ended his 2024 campaign early and kept him sidelined for the entire 2025 season.
Sanders took the QB mantle late last season after an injury to Gabriel. He led the team to a 3-4 record while throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was executing first-team reps by the conclusion of mandatory minicamp.
NFL analyst urges Browns to hand Shedeur Sanders the starting job over Deshaun Watson
The Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback competition has sparked another debate, with Cleveland radio host Tony Rizzo arguing that the franchise should move forward with rookie Shedeur Sanders instead of Deshaun Watson.
Speaking on “The Tony Rizzo Show” earlier this month, the NFL analyst weighed in on the QB battle in Cleveland.
“What do you need to see in Watson?” Rizzo said. “This should be about Sanders. This year should be the year to see about Shedeur… Let this kid play. Let’s see what this kid can do.”
Rizzo argued that giving Sanders game time would help Cleveland figure out whether he can be the team’s long-term answer or if they needs to target another passer in next year’s draft.
Rizzo’s comments came in response to former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson, who claimed on the “Nightcap” podcast that Watson should open the season as the Browns’ starter.
Edited by Nishant