The current quarterback room for the Cleveland Browns is the same as it was last season. Not a lot of tangible hope and not a lot of excitement. Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel are both heading into year two, while Deshaun Watson is trying to salvage what once was a promising career. At the NFL owners’ meeting in Arizona, a lot of talk surrounding the Browns was about who would be the starter at quarterback. Will it be Sanders? Watson? Could Dillon Gabriel throw his hat into the ring?
If any person has pressure to perform and take the QB1 job, it’s no one other than Sanders.
Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken stated how the QB competition is going to go, and it’s going to be based on how last season went and how each QB performed.
Considering how Gabriel and Sanders split time as the starter and with Watson recovering from offseason Achilles surgery, it’s clear Sanders is the leader in the QB room because he was the starter to finish the season.
Of course, things can change between right now and training camp.
Sanders’ tape has some highs and some lows. However, as a 5th-round pick, his stats were less than spectacular last season. Despite Cleveland’s offensive situation last season being less than ideal, Sanders didn’t show the necessary consistency in the later parts of the year. We’ve seen quarterbacks in bad situations find a way to improve their game.
Teams rarely commit to 5th round quarterbacks, and Sanders is no exception.
Watson is trying his best to get back on the field, and he knows that this is his last chance to be a starter in this league. If Sanders isn’t able to beat out Watson for the QB1 job, it’s more of an indictment on Sanders than it is on the coaching staff or even a credit to Watson. The coaching staff is going to put the best QB out there to win games.
The pressure is on Sanders, not Watson, to win this job, but the second-year QB seems to be in the pole position based on Monken’s comment. Watson has nothing to lose, while Sanders has everything to lose.
