The Cleveland Browns haven’t made an official decision on the starting quarterback yet. Between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, new head coach Todd Monken has two viable options, with a battle for the QB1 spot dominating the entire offseason.
Now, even after the first week of preseason, fans haven’t received a clear answer on who has the job. But one analyst isn’t happy with where the franchise stands, regardless of who is chosen for the role.
Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson Aren’t the Answer for the Browns
After splitting time between Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel under center last season, the Browns finally settled on Sanders as the starting quarterback for the final seven games of the year. Unfortunately, he was underwhelming in the role, finishing second-to-last on PFN’s QB Impact Metric with an impact score of 63.0.
But the other option for Monken isn’t moving needles either. Watson, in his four seasons with the Browns, has played in just 19 games, recording fewer than 3,500 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
As a result, neither option feels like a smash-hit success, even as the team soldiers on. Daryl Ruiter has had enough of the entire “battle,” calling out both players during an appearance on “Afternoon Drive (92.3 The Fan).”
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“It’s so bad. It’s amateur hour out there at times,” Ruiter said. “This isn’t NFL quarterback play. It’s going to put a heavy burden on the skill position players to elevate the quarterbacks.”
Pointing out a spike from Sanders during a two-minute drill that cost them a field goal, Ruiter was far from impressed.
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He went a step further, claiming Watson “continues to misfire badly,” despite a relatively solid showing in the first game of the preseason. Given the starting nod against the Chicago Bears, the former Houston Texans star completed 11 of 15 passing attempts for 126 yards.
However, most of his attempts went near the line of scrimmage without any truly remarkable throws to his credit. Unfortunately, Sanders didn’t light the world on fire during his run under center either.
While he was more aggressive, he only completed 6 of 11 passing attempts for 79 yards and even gave up an interception. This week, the expectation is that he will get the starting nod before Watson subs in later during the game.
It remains to be seen if first-team reps change the outcome for him, but for now, it doesn’t seem like the season is going to be a pleasant outing for the Cleveland fan base, regardless of who gets the keys to the offense.
