Deshaun Watson to start Browns' first preseason game vs. Bears; Shedeur Sanders slated for next week
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders discusses the sharing of first-team reps with quarterback Deshaun Watson along with other things happening during training camp.
Deshaun Watson is first up in Cleveland's quarterback battle.
The 30-year-old signal-caller will start for the Browns in their preseason opener against the Bears on Saturday in Chicago, the team announced Wednesday.
Shedeur Sanders will start in Cleveland's second preseason game, the team added.
"I'm super excited," Watson said ahead of Wednesday's practice, via the team's official site. "All the hard work that I put in with the training staff, with my team, my personal team, to get to this stage has been tremendous for me. So, I'm super excited for those opportunities and can't wait for it."
New head coach Todd Monken has conducted a battle for the starting job throughout the offseason and hasn't provided many hints on who is leading at this stage, leaving the race to be interpreted by those covering the team. Early in camp, Sanders appeared to be ahead of Watson, but Watson's improvement over the weekend seemed to narrow the competition.
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Monken's selection of Watson shouldn't come as a surprise. After sitting out all of 2025 due to injury and fading from relevance entirely, Watson enters 2026 fully healthy with the hope he might prove he's still worth employing in the NFL. Cleveland opened the door for Watson -- recipient of a fully guaranteed, $230 million deal now considered to be one of the most ill-advised contracts in NFL history -- to return to the team's starting lineup in the offseason, clearing the way for the veteran to compete with Sanders, a 2025 fifth-round pick who made seven starts last season.
Watson is entering the final year of the aforementioned lucrative contract he signed in 2022, leaving him with one final opportunity to deliver even a modicum of return on Cleveland's regrettable investment. He'll have his first chance to do so Saturday when the Browns face the reigning NFC North champions at Soldier Field.