Browns name Deshaun Watson starter for preseason opener, Shedeur Sanders to start second game

BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson will start at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in their preseason opener Saturday in Chicago.

Browns coach Todd Monken made the announcement Wednesday after the team’s final full practice session of the week. Monken has said multiple times that he planned to start Watson in one preseason game and Shedeur Sanders in another, and the first-year Browns head coach repeated that the competition is not over.

Watson and Sanders have alternated days operating the No. 1 offense since the spring with the exception of last Saturday, when Watson got all the first-team reps and probably had his strongest throwing session of the summer.

Monken said all healthy Browns players will suit up and should plan to play some Saturday. His loose plan is for the starting offensive line to play a series or two and for Watson to play the first half. Monken said Sanders will then play in the third quarter, and that the same playing time plan will be used when the roles flip for next week’s preseason game and Sanders starts.

Watson hasn’t taken a snap in game conditions since October 2024. He missed all of last season while recovering from his second right Achilles tendon tear, but it long felt like Monken believed Watson’s experience and mobility gave him at least a slight edge in a competition that, before last week, didn’t seem to have a timeline for a winner.

That should change in the next week or so, though, as the Browns host a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 20 before their preseason game two days later. Though the preseason game work will end up being close to even, Monken hasn’t committed to a plan for the joint practice and the chance to watch both quarterbacks in a controlled but competitive setting.

For now, the coach says the job is still up for grabs, even as the team began to shift from the installation stage toward the next phases of training camp late last week.

After a rocky, interception-laden start to training camp, Watson has consistently moved the offense in game-simulation practice periods. Monken has repeatedly said Sanders is improving but needs to show more command of the offensive operation — an opportunity the preseason game should provide.

Sanders took all of the No. 1 reps in practice Wednesday, and Monken informed both Sanders and Watson of his decision after practice.

The team flies to Chicago on Thursday and will hold a walk-through practice Friday. Monken is hopeful that the end of the first half versus the Bears will present the Browns with a hurry-up situation in which Watson can be evaluated.

“My job is to just keep trying to win the day, get better a little bit each time,” Watson said. “Can’t rush anything. Just get out there and let the football things I’ve been doing my whole life take care of themselves.”