After the Cleveland Browns’ disappointing season in the 2025 season with a 5-12 record, a lot of water flowed under the bridge. First came HC Kevin Stefanski’s firing, and now a significant question of who will start at QB revolves around Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Let’s dive deep to know who has more chances to start the 2026 NFL season.
NFL Insider Predicts Who Will Probably Start Week 1 for the Browns in 2026?
NFL Insider and reporter, Mary Kay Cabot, answered this question when she appeared on “92.3 The Fan”. When asked, “What chances does Deshaun Watson have to start the season as the starting quarterback in 2026?” the insider replied with quite a clear answer, but revealed what the starting QB decision depends on.
Cabot started, “Well, again, I don’t know if I can put a percentage on it. But if they decide that they want to draft a quarterback, then I think Deshaun’s chances of starting the season increase a lot. Once again, the new head coach is going to have a lot of say in this matter.”
🏈”If they decide they want to draft a QB, Deshaun’s chances of starting increase a lot… It’s going to depend who the young QB is. Is it Shedeur or a rookie? If it’s Shedeur I think he would start ahead of Deshaun week 1.”
📞@MaryKayCabot on who will be Browns QB1 in 2026 pic.twitter.com/JHfZ9Xn0g9
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) January 8, 2026
Therefore, the new head coach of the Browns will be the primary decision-maker between Sanders and Watson. But that’s not all the metric is. Cabot revealed that it also depends on whether the franchise picks up a rookie quarterback from the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Browns reporter further said, “If he (new head coach) likes Deshaun and thinks that he gives the team the best chance to win in the early going and they have a rookie to go along with him, then Deshaun will start some games.”
“If not, then he’ll probably be around as a mentor, like he was this year. He was a good football mentor to those young quarterbacks. Even Bill Musgrave (QB coach) said he didn’t know what they would have done without him. You need that kind of veteran presence in a quarterback room,” the reporter added.
The reporter concluded, “It’s going to depend on who the head coach is, and it’s also going to depend on who the young quarterback is. Is it Shedeur or is it a rookie? If it’s Shedeur, I would think that he would start ahead of Deshaun Watson week one.”
The Curious Case of Shedeur Sanders as Browns’ Starting QB for 2026
On one hand, though a few of you want Sanders to be the starting QB for the team’s 2026 season, his stats do not speak for him that loudly. He has won three of seven games in his first season.
However, on the other hand, they do not have other trusted options. Watson, who re-injured his Achilles before the 2025 season, has not stepped on the NFL gridiron since his October 2025 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. And if we pan the camera, there is only Dillon Gabriel, to whom Sanders has already outperformed.
So, there is no more tried-and-tested QB than Sanders. His three-TD, 364 passing yards game against Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans showed his caliber.
Even in his college football career, the former Colorado Buffalo QB’s performance against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Nov. 29, 2024, was itself a clear message to the future NFL franchise. In that game, the buffaloes won with a 52-0 final score. Sanders had five touchdowns, completed 82.9% of throws, had only one interception, and was sacked six times.
Maybe that’s why ESPN’s senior NFL analyst, Mel Kiper, ripped the Browns on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Strongly Supports Sanders for Starting 2026 NFL Season
“What the h*ll has he got to do? I mean, is there a way to get into this? I mean, I don’t know what else the kids need to do,” Kiper said per ESPN Cleveland.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper also said that Josh Allen had his share of haters by Year 3, and even faced plenty of criticism in Years 2 and 3, which made it unrealistic to expect Shedeur Sanders to avoid the same treatment. Kiper explained that after watching every play and every snap of Sanders, the quarterback had every reason to be proud of what he endured and fought through.
The top analyst also pointed out that Sanders still led a game-winning drive into field-goal range inside 50 yards, setting up the kick that sealed the win, and added that the score easily could have been 21–12 if Sal Cannella had secured the catch.
Kiper’s point was the same as we noted above. If they have won nearly 50% games with Sanders as a starter, then why not give him another year?
But apart from Kiper’s statement and Cabot’s revelation, one dynamic part in the organization will play a significant role here. And that is the Browns’ new head coach. It will be essential for Sanders and Watson who the franchise appoints as a new HC.
