Veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson is currently engaged in one of the league’s fiercest QB1 battles against Shedeur Sanders.
Watson returned from a long-term injury that forced him to miss the entire 2025 season and is currently sharing first-team reps with Sanders during the Cleveland Browns’ training camp. As we inch closer to Week 1, one former NFL star believes head coach Todd Monken should make a decision already.
LeSean McCoy Dismisses Deshaun Watson’s QB1 Claim
During Monday’s segment of the “Speakeasy” podcast, Philadelphia Eagles legend LeSean McCoy dismantled Watson’s case to be the Browns’ QB1 over Sanders.
“There’s no future for Deshaun Watson, so why would we trade Shedeur?” McCoy asked.
“It’s something I don’t even get. You got a $200 million dud quarterback that you know you’re not gonna stick with. I mean, do you need more evidence, more proof? He’s been bad, bad, bad. What more does he have to show you?
“Then you got Shedeur, who’s a fifth-rounder. He’s getting better and he’s still young and in his second year. With a new head coach, why not see what he’s got? That don’t even make no sense, what are we talking about? So, he’s gonna trade him. For whom?”
Watson is sitting on one of the league’s cushiest contracts, signed when he was traded from the Houston Texans in 2022. The polarizing quarterback signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns.
His stint in Cleveland has been woeful, to say the least, missing 11 games in his first season after being suspended due to sexual misconduct allegations.
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Watson played only six games in 2023 after sustaining a rotator cuff strain and undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. In 2024, Watson ruptured his Achilles tendon and missed the last 10 games of the season. Last year, he re-ruptured his Achilles tendon and missed the whole season.
Despite the Browns’ significant financial outlay on Watson, the quarterback has only played 19 games and has a 9-10 record.
On the other hand, the Browns bolstered their quarterback room in Watson’s absence by drafting Sanders and Dillon Gabriel in the 2025 NFL Draft and Taylen Green in the 2026 Draft. Last season, Sanders climbed the depth chart from third choice to QB1 after Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals and Gabriel sustained a concussion.
Sanders led the Browns to a 3-4 record as a starter, earning the league’s second-worst PFN QB Impact score of 63.0 after tallying 1,400 passing yards on 56.6% completion, 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Browns coach Todd Monken has been tight-lipped about Watson and Sanders’ intense QB1 competition during training camp. But ahead of their first preseason game, whoever lines up under center will have won the job for the upcoming season.
