The NFL preseason is generally a tough sell. Fans are excited that football is back, sure, but then the starters play a series or two, and a bunch of guys who aren’t going to make the roster finish the game.
But the Cleveland Browns just gave us two reasons to pay attention to their first two preseason games.
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Head coach Todd Monken informed his quarterbacks Wednesday afternoon that Deshaun Watson will start Cleveland’s preseason opener Saturday in Chicago against the Bears. Monken also plans to start Shedeur Sanders in the Browns’ second preseason game, at home against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22.
Now we’re talking.
Monken said the plan is for Watson and Sanders to play roughly a half apiece against Chicago, then flip the order the following week against Buffalo.
Cleveland has spent the offseason treating its quarterback job like an actual competition, and Monken has backed that up with how he’s handled practice. Watson and Sanders have alternated days working with the first-team offense during training camp after both received opportunities with the starters during the spring.
But preseason football is where that competition finally becomes something the rest of us can actually evaluate.
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Watson gets the first crack, and his start against Chicago carries plenty of weight even if Monken isn’t ready to call anyone QB1. Watson hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since rupturing his Achilles in October 2024. He later needed a second surgery after re-rupturing the tendon and didn’t play at all last season.
So, watching Watson take an actual snap against an opposing defense is going to be a little more interesting than the standard August opener.
The Browns don’t just need to know whether Watson can operate Monken’s offense. They need to see whether he still resembles an NFL starting quarterback after nearly two years without playing in a game. He’s obviously not the player the Browns traded three first-round picks to obtain in March 2022.
Watson led the NFL in passing yards in 2020, then didn’t play at all in 2021 after requesting a trade. During that time, dozens of massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct, further complicating his situation in Houston. The final two civil lawsuits tied to those allegations were dismissed earlier this year.
None of it stopped the Browns from trading for Watson in what might be the worst trade in NFL history. The 30-year-old quarterback has started 19 games in the past four seasons, compiling a 9-10 record.
Cleveland doesn’t need Watson to be the guy who was considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. They just need him to prove he can still be a competent QB.
Then there’s the 24-year-old Sanders, who slid to the Browns in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders wasn’t even the first quarterback drafted by the Browns; that was Dillon Gabriel in the third round. Gabriel is still on the roster and technically part of the team’s competition to be the starter, but appears to be behind Watson and Sanders. They also drafted Taylen Green in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Unlike Watson, Sanders has recent game tape, and plenty of it. The second-year QB appeared in eight games as a rookie and started seven, throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. There were flashes of promise, most notably a 364-yard, three-touchdown performance against Tennessee, but there were also the mistakes you’d expect from a young quarterback trying to figure out the NFL.
That’s what makes this battle so intriguing. Not only is Sanders technically the incumbent, but he comes with a ton of hype thanks to his bravado and last name. He’s already started meaningful NFL games, showed enough to make the Browns curious about what comes next and has now had a full offseason under a new head coach to make his case.
Usually, there’s an obvious answer to a QB “competition” and teams just go through the motions. But this feels like a true battle for the starting gig. Giving Watson and Sanders their own preseason starts makes it pretty clear Monken wants to see both guys in game action with the first-team offense.
More importantly, Cleveland has created something that’s usually missing from August football: stakes that people actually care about.
Nobody is going to remember who wins Browns-Bears on Saturday. Nobody should. But if Watson looks sharp, moves well and pushes the ball downfield, that’s meaningful. If he looks tentative or rusty after such a long layoff, that’s meaningful too.
The same applies to Sanders against Buffalo. He’ll get a home crowd that already knows him, and every good throw is going to add fuel to the idea that he should be Cleveland’s starter now and into the future. Every bad decision will be a reminder that his rookie season was uneven for a reason.
Monken doesn’t have to name a regular-season starter after either game. In fact, he probably shouldn’t unless someone makes the decision obvious.
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Cleveland still has a third preseason game against New England on Aug. 27, so there’s room to keep evaluating before the real games begin. And if Monken really wants to mess with everyone, he could even throw Gabriel a start in that contest.
For now, Watson gets Chicago. Sanders gets Buffalo. And for two Saturdays, Cleveland’s quarterback competition becomes one of the most interesting things the NFL preseason has to offer.
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