The Cleveland Browns went 5-12 in 2025, burning through quarterbacks and schemes while injuries shredded any chance at consistency. The talent exists, but the offense never really clicked. A new coach inherits a QB room with no clear answer now.
The tension is real as Cleveland heads to Indianapolis. The Browns need answers at the most volatile position in football. The next call won’t come easy. It’ll be ugly and fiercely contested.
Andrew Berry Signals Shedeur Sanders vs. Deshaun Watson QB Battle
Cleveland GM Andrew Berry shut down any QB1 talk at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The Browns will let Sanders and Watson battle for the starting job once the offseason program begins. Adam Schefter first reported the comments on X, with ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi adding further detail.
“We don’t have to make that decision anytime soon. I think any player that we have in that room we would expect to compete to earn a role. Those two would be no different.”
Cleveland axed Kevin Stefanski on January 5, 2026, and brought in Todd Monken to modernize the offense. That hire alone changes how you evaluate every player on this roster. The Browns want tempo, movement, and QBs who create off-script. So the Sanders vs. Watson battle is no training camp subplot anymore. It’s more of a system fit test.
Coach Prime’s son is the 144th pick in 2025. He didn’t see reps early. By November, the Colorado product had taken over. He went 3-4 across seven starts, showing creativity but coughing up the ball. Berry’s message is simple: be efficient, protect the football, and grow within the system. That development now runs through Monken’s playbook.
Deshaun Watson’s situation stands apart, though. The 30-year-old has been rehabbing an Achilles tear since October 2024 and hasn’t taken a snap since. In three seasons on a fully guaranteed $230M deal. He’s appeared in just 19 games. Cleveland still owes him $46M in 2026, with a projected cap hit of $80.7M, via Spotrac. That money keeps him in the building. The competition guarantees nothing more.
Andrew Berry confirmed the front office is also surveying the veteran market. That sharpens the stakes of the Shedeur Sanders-Deshaun Watson quarterback battle heading into 2026. Competition drives the policy here. Training camp becomes the proving ground. Nobody wins the job until they earn it.