Cleveland Browns fans are watching a quarterback battle take place before their eyes with Deshaun Watson returning to the field. He’s going up against Shedeur Sanders, who has been turning heads with some of his play.
Still, one NFL analyst believes that Sanders just doesn’t make the cut right now to start at quarterback for the Browns.
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On Wednesday afternoon, Nick Baumgardner, who covers the NFL Draft for The Athletic, stopped by 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland. When talking about both Watson and Sanders, Baumgardner made it a point to say that he doesn’t think Sanders is a starting quarterback. He also talked about Sanders’ progress as a rookie, too.
“It was honestly a little bit better than I probably remembered live, but it also reminded me that Shedeur’s exactly what I thought he was when he came out which is a backup quarterback,” Baumgardner said.
“I just don’t think he’s a starter in the NFL.”
“It was honestly a little bit better than I probably remembered live, but it also reminded me that Shedeur’s exactly what I thought he was when he came out which is a backup quarterback. I just don’t think he’s a starter in the NFL.”
📞 @nickbaumgardner w/ @NickWilsonSays and… pic.twitter.com/l6JB56SfcX
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) July 15, 2026
In his first NFL season, Sanders was 120-of-212 passing for 1,400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Sanders finished the season with an 18.9 QBR. According to the PFSN NFL QB Impact metrics, which are measured throughout the regular season, Sanders had a grade of 63.0 and had a 56.6% completion percentage.
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He also was sacked 23 times when running the Browns’ offense for former head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Watson hasn’t played in the NFL since 2024, when he started dealing with serious injuries. But, in his first three seasons in Cleveland, he only played 6, 6, and 7 games. When Watson was healthier when playing with the Houston Texans, Watson, in his first four NFL seasons, appeared in 7, 16, 15, and 16 games.
Before his off-the-field situation sent him away from the NFL for a bit, Watson had developed into potentially being one of the best quarterbacks in the league going forward.
If Baumgardner is correct, then new Browns head coach Todd Monken, who spent the past three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator under former head coach John Harbaugh, might be leaning toward Watson being his QB1. It will be interesting to see what happens when training camp opens up pretty soon.
