The Cleveland Browns plan to reassess their quarterback situation after Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay, and Shedeur Sanders is next in line to start if Deshaun Watson is benched.
Ian Rapoport of ESPN reported Sunday that no firm decision has been made for Week 3. Inside the building, the first two games are viewed as a natural evaluation point, and the Sept. 27 home opener against the Carolina Panthers could be where a change happens.
Watson starts again at 1 p.m. ET Sunday against the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Cleveland lost its opener 34-10 at Jacksonville. Watson completed 16 of 22 passes for 205 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked five times.
Rapoport reported that the offensive operation in that game left people inside the organization frustrated, and that the problems went beyond the quarterback.
First-year coach Todd Monken stood by Watson the day after the loss, saying there were “some really good things on film.” Monken noted that it had been 693 days since Watson’s previous start. Watson missed most of 2024 and all of 2025 with Achilles injuries.
Monken also spread the responsibility around.
“We got to play better around him,” Monken said. “We got to call it better, and he’s got to play better.”
Sanders has been waiting since training camp, when Watson won the job.
A fifth-round pick in 2025, 144th overall out of Colorado, Sanders started the final seven games of his rookie season. He appeared in eight games and completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
His biggest output came in Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans. He threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns in that game and ran for another score.
This preseason, Sanders completed nine of 11 passes for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Watson’s own play Sunday will help shape the decision, according to Rapoport. The Browns have given no public indication they are leaning either way. Rookie Taylen Green sits third on the depth chart.
Across the field is Baker Mayfield, the quarterback Cleveland drafted first overall in 2018 and later traded to Carolina after acquiring Watson. Tampa Bay is also 0-1 after a 33-27 loss at Cincinnati.
Should Watson struggle again, Sanders could make his first start of 2026 on Sept. 27 against Carolina at 1 p.m. ET. Four days later, Cleveland hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8:15 p.m. ET.
