Shedeur Sanders’ Abysmal Pre Season Outing Could Result in Deshaun Watson Becoming Browns’ Starting Quarterback

Shedeur Sanders threw an interception in the Browns preseason opener against the Bears in Chicago.

Shedeur Sanders’ Abysmal Pre Season Outing Could Result in Deshaun Watson Becoming Browns’ Starting Quarterback

#4 Deshaun Watson, #2 Shedeur Sanders and #8 Dillon Gabriel (Image via IMAGO)

Shedeur Sanders capped off a disappointing outing on his return to the Cleveland Browns starting lineup. Sanders recorded a passer rating of 39.6 and threw an interception in the Browns’ preseason opener against the Chicago Bears.

Very few stories were bigger than the Browns quarterback battle in the offseason. Despite spending the entire training camp competing with Deshaun Watson, Sanders couldn’t establish a clear lead, leaving head coach Todd Monken with a massive headache.

As it’s still the preseason, Monken rotated between Watson and Sanders. Watson played the entire first half and completed 11 of his 15 passes for 126 yards and took one sack. Sanders replaced Watson in the third quarter. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 79 yards and threw an interception.

2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel debuted his new jersey number in the final quarter. Gabriel threw 5 completions for 23 yards, conceded one interception, and took a couple of sacks. The Browns only mustered 10 total points while the defense gave up 34 to the Bears.

Up next, the Browns host consecutive home friendlies against the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots. The Browns open their 2026 adventure with a trip to Jacksonville, Florida, to play against the Jaguars.

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Shedeur Sanders opens up about his interception in the Bears game

The Browns replaced Kevin Stefanski with Monken in the offseason, so he has only had a handful of months to learn the new offensive playbook. It’s still a work in progress.

Shedeur Sanders' Abysmal Pre Season Outing Could Result in Deshaun Watson Becoming Browns' Starting Quarterback
Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Young quarterbacks like Shedeur are prone to making mistakes, but the former Colorado starter asserted that he made the “right read” before throwing the INT.

What’d I see? The right read; it [the ball] just slipped… that’s what makes me be mad a little bit because of it … I just didn’t execute the decision, but the right decision was made.

Shedeur Sanders told the media after the defeat

Sanders admitted turning the ball over too much will not help him in the long run.

Obviously, turning the ball over and all that stuff is not great, and it won’t survive a long time in the league doing that. But as long as my eyes and my feet and everything were in the right place, being able to execute it, it just may happen.

Sanders said

Former NFL quarterback supports Shedeur Sanders

Chase Daniel, who played for several clubs during his NFL career, offered a key insight into what may have led Sanders to throw the pick.

Watched this 30x…see how Shedeur spins the ball midway through his drop? Only reason this is such a bad overthrow is maybe the ball came back drenched with sweat from the center. If your thumb hits a wet spot on the ball…good luck. I think he spins it to get a better grip.

Daniel tweeted

The Browns drafted Shedeur Sanders 144th overall last year. He went 3-4 in the regular season and completed 120 passes for 1400 yards, 7 touchdowns and 10 picks.

Todd Monken gives an update about Shedeur Sanders’ future

Watson wasn’t cerebral in his first start in over twenty months, but he did enough to earn praise from Monken. The first-year head coach later told Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot that Watson would have a strong chance of starting in week one if he continues to deliver similar performances in the final two preseason games.

Next up are the Bills. Monken plans to stick with the same quarterback rotation formula for now. He will announce the starter at the end of the third friendly against the Patriots.

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