“You Have to Earn the Trust…” – Ex-Falcons WR Gets Real About Shedeur Sanders’ QB1 Chances in Cleveland Against Deshaun Watson

Harry Douglas noted that Shedeur Sanders must prove himself to the new Browns coaching team if he wants to start in week one of the 2026 season.

“You Have to Earn the Trust…” – Ex-Falcons WR Gets Real About Shedeur Sanders’ QB1 Chances in Cleveland Against Deshaun Watson

Shedeur Sanders and Harry Douglas inside the circle (Image via IMAGO/ESPN)

After the Cleveland Browns fired Kevin Stefanski earlier this year, for a brief period, it seemed like Shedeur Sanders was going to become the de facto starter at the quarterback position in week one of the 2026 season. Todd Monken’s appointment as the new head coach only increased Sanders’ chances even more.

Then again, things are rarely that simple. Toward the end of the last campaign, Deshaun Watson started showing up to practices and even attended NFL games. Officially, he was on IR, recovering from an ACL reconstruction—unofficially, he acted as Sanders’ mentor.

According to league sources, Watson completed his rehab and is expected to challenge Sanders for the starting QB job. Monken may love Sanders from his Baltimore days, but even he knows that he cannot announce Sanders as QB1 based on popular demand. He must earn the job by outperforming Watson during the offseason training camp.

Former NFL wide receiver Harry Douglas echoed the same sentiment on the latest episode of Get Up on ESPN.

You have to grasp this system inside and out. … You have to earn the trust of not just your teammates, but the coaching staff and the people in the front office upstairs.

Douglas said

Following an historic slide down the draft, Sanders ended up with the Browns in the fifth round. The quarterback competition made his chances of breaking into the top two roster spots even harder. Stefanski picked veteran Joe Flacco as his lead quarterback and Dillon Gabriel as the backup.

Flacco went 1-3 before getting traded to the Bengals. Gabriel held down the fort for the next few weeks, but the crowd got restless with his playing style and demanded that Sanders be put in on the field instead. Sanders finished with 3-4, completing 120 passes for 1400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. The NFL selected him as a Pro Bowl alternate after a mass withdrawal from players who wanted to focus on the playoffs.

Todd Monken gave an update on the Browns quarterback situation involving Shedeur Sanders

Similar to their AFC North neighbours, the Browns welcomed back several players on the first day of offseason voluntary workouts. Sanders arrived at the facility, and Browns kind of gave the QB1 treatment.

"You Have to Earn the Trust.." - Ex-Falcons WR Gets Real About Shedeur Sanders' QB1 Chances in Cleveland Against Deshaun Watson
Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

The official X account of the Browns team posted a video of Sanders arriving with the caption “S2 ready for year 2,” a clever nod to Sanders getting his No. 2 jersey back, for the first time since his college days.

While this gesture re-energized the fans, it’s better to avoid overanalyzing the post. As if Monken had not praised Sanders enough, after the practice, he showered the former Colorado man with some more.

“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability. That’s in him [Shedeur]. You’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. You saw it in college. You saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go. But what rookie isn’t, I mean, what first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go?”

Monken said of Sanders (HT/Cleveland Browns official website)

It’s still a three-man race, and Monken isn’t ruling Watson and Gabriel out just yet. Fans will pressure to make Sanders the starter, but the final decision lies with Monken and his coaching team.

Also Read: