The Cleveland Browns have been a team to watch so far this offseason. All eyes are on what they plan to do at quarterback, as the competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders approaches the endgame.
Few seem fully confident about which way the competition is leaning. While Watson did start the first preseason game and performed relatively well, completing 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards, he did lose a fumble. As for Sanders, he went 6/11 with 79 yards and an interception.
The Browns have been in QB purgatory for a long time, and a former NFL player believes it’s time they start looking towards the future.
Why Domonique Foxworth Thinks Shedeyr Sanders Should Win The Job
It is difficult to be overly excited about either of the Browns’ quarterback options.
Both quarterbacks took different paths to the 2026 season. Watson was once seen as the next great quarterback while with the Houston Texans, but once he got traded to the Browns, things fell apart both on and off the field.
As for Sanders, he was the Browns’ fifth-round pick last season and brought plenty of noise with him to the NFL. If the Browns are trying to find their next franchise quarterback, it makes sense to go for the younger player.
Former NFL player Domonique Foxworth believes Sanders should win the starting job outright.
Foxworth said on Get Up, “Shedeur Sanders should start for the Browns, and it shouldn’t be Deshaun Watson. Rewatching that game, or at least rewatching Deshaun Watson’s snaps over and over again, I didn’t see something that I felt like it’s gonna make this team a real competitor. It doesn’t make sense to me to put Deshaun Watson out there.
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“There is little to no chance that Deshaun Watson is the future in Cleveland. The future in Cleveland is either Shedeur Sanders or it’s going to be in the draft.”
It makes sense for the Browns to see at least what they have in Sanders. He is still a young player who needs plenty of development, and playing is the only way he’ll get better.
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He played poorly last season in seven starts and will have to show much more this season to be considered their franchise QB. According to PFN metrics, Sanders had a QB Impact Rating of 63.0, which ranked 37th in the NFL (only Cam Ward had a worse score). His 7:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio contributed to his poor impact score.
It will be interesting to see what the Browns do at quarterback. They will likely have multiple starters throughout the year no matter who wins the starting job.
Even with a new head coach in Todd Monken, the Browns aren’t expected to be very good all that soon, and their lack of strong quarterback options is clearly one reason why.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.