Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson? Browns GM Breaks Silence on Who Will Be the Starting Quarterback Next Season

In 2025-26 season, Shedeur Sanders started seven games for the Cleveland Browns, throwing seven touchdowns against ten interceptions.

Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson? Browns GM Breaks Silence on Who Will Be the Starting Quarterback Next Season

Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson; Andrew Berry (in circle) (Images via Fox 8)

In Short
  • Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry announced an open competition for the starting quarterback position between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson.
  • Berry emphasized the importance of continued growth for Sanders, who showed improvement throughout his first season.
  • The Browns are adjusting to a new coaching staff after parting ways with Kevin Stefanski and hiring Todd Monken as head coach.

After a disastrous season, the Cleveland Browns are looking for a bounce-back. The Browns, who’ve started at least 42 quarterbacks since 1999, are once again finding themselves in a dissonance over who should start when the season starts in September.

Andrew Berry, the Browns’ general manager, recently broke the silence on what they have planned. Berry, who took over the position in 2020, addressed that there will be an open competition for Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, though there’s no rush in Berea. Berry said during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday:

We don’t have to make that decision anytime soon. I think any player that we have in that room we would expect to compete to earn a role. Those two would be no different.

In his interaction, Berry elaborated on what’s expected from Sanders while acknowledging growth from his first start to his seventh game of the season. The general manager added that Sanders, who went 3-4 in 2025, has continued to improve his efficiency. He added:

I think the biggest thing that we want to see from Shedeur is just continued growth. I think he grew a lot from Start 1 to Start 7. I think certainly playing more efficiently, not putting the ball in harm’s way as much, would be important while maintaining the ability to produce out of structure and generate explosive plays.

However, Berry admitted that the development won’t be immediately visible now and will be once the season starts. The current agenda, according to him, revolves around Sanders and the rest of the roster to acclimate to the new coaching staff. The Browns removed Kevin Stefanski earlier this year, placing Todd Monken in the head coach role.

Berry was also hopeful of the vexed quarterback, Deshaun Watson, returning to the roster. He said that Watson has been working really hard in the past few months. Berry added that they’re excited to go in mid-April with all of our players across the roster.” Watson, who’s one of the biggest investments made by the Browns management, would resolve their need for an experienced quarterback.

However, he didn’t explicitly address the rumors of the Browns looking at the NFL Draft to further strengthen their quarterback room, reminiscent of how it was last year.

Emory Hunt heaps huge praise on Shedeur Sanders ahead of the NFL Draft

Emory Hunt, CBS Sports’ NFL analyst, showered huge praise on Shedeur Sanders amid the NFL Scouting Combine taking place from Thursday. Hunt claimed that there are no quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft who match the same level of skill that Sanders has.

Fernando Mendoza
Fernando Mendoza (Image via X)

Hunt named Sanders as a better quarterback than Fernando Mendoza, who led the Indiana Hoosiers to an undefeated championship earlier this year. Hunt declared (via 92.3 The Fan):

Here is not, and not even Fernando Mendoza. I have a higher grade on Shedeur Sanders than I did on anybody in this draft class.

Mendoza had an advantage with the coach, sure, however, the accolades he brought to his name in a year didn’t convince Hunt. Mendoza didn’t just win the Heisman Trophy but also the consensus All-American honors, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Award.

Mendoza threw 3,500 yards and ranked first in the country for most touchdowns, with 41 of them. He displayed a smoother final year in college than Sanders had in his year. The Colorado Buffaloes remarkably finished outside of the top twelve programs, even with Sanders and Heisman-winner Travis Hunter. The take from Hunt has become a hot topic, especially considering Sanders didn’t live up to the hype in neither the draft nor his seven starts.

Sanders had a challenging year, winning three of the seven games while recording a 7-10 touchdown-interception ratio. Andrew Berry had pointed out a particular notice to highlight not putting the ball in harm’s way in his talk with reporters in Indianapolis

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