Shedeur Sanders says Browns QB fight is built on respect

Shedeur Sanders says Cleveland’s quarterback race with Deshaun Watson has not turned frosty, even with the Browns’ QB1 job on the line.

Speaking this week while hosting a free youth football camp in Brooklyn, Ohio, Sanders told Cleveland.com that he and Watson are focused on improving rather than letting the competition split the quarterback room.

“We're both trying to be the best version of ourselves we could be,” Sanders said, according to Cleveland.com. “So we're not going to let anything get in between that.”

The Browns are set to open training camp in Berea, Ohio, with Watson healthy again after twice tearing his right Achilles tendon in a four-month span, CBS Sports reported. Cleveland is scheduled to begin the season Sept. 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Watson missed the entire 2025 season, according to CBS Sports, and is trying to take back the starting role in the final year of his contract. Sanders, entering his second NFL season, made the Pro Bowl as a rookie after going 3-4 in seven starts.

Sanders said the two quarterbacks have kept a working relationship as the competition gets closer. He told Cleveland.com that if one sees something useful in the other’s game, they talk about it.

“If I like something he's doing, I ask,” Sanders said, according to Cleveland.com. “If he likes something I do, then [he] asks. It's conversation, and that's what's most effective.”

Miami work, Cleveland stakes

Sanders and Watson also co-hosted a passing camp for Browns teammates in Miami earlier this month, Cleveland.com reported. Sanders said the trip helped players spend time together away from the team facility.

He said the group came away with a stronger bond and planned to keep building those relationships once back with the Browns.

The competition will unfold under new head coach Todd Monken, CBS Sports reported. An April report cited by CBS Sports said Watson had the inside track to the starting job, though the battle is expected to play out on the practice field when camp begins July 28.

What the numbers say

Both quarterbacks enter camp with questions attached to their recent production, based on figures listed by CBS Sports.

• Watson has played 19 games for Cleveland, going 9-10, while Sanders has played eight games and gone 3-4.
• Watson has completed 61.2% of his passes with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and an 80.7 passer rating.
• Sanders has completed 56.6% of his passes with seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 68.1 passer rating.
• Watson has averaged 177.1 passing yards per game, while Sanders has averaged 175.0.

Sanders had some rookie-year highlights. CBS Sports reported he became the first Browns quarterback since 1995 to win his first NFL start and moved ahead of Dillon Gabriel, who had been drafted before him.

There were rough edges, too. Since Sanders made his NFL debut in Week 11, CBS Sports said he had the league’s second-worst completion percentage at 57%, the most interceptions with 10, the second-worst passer rating at 68.1 and the second-worst touchdown-to-interception ratio at 7-10.

Watson’s Cleveland tenure has also been limited. CBS Sports reported the Browns traded three first-round picks to the Houston Texans for him in 2022 and signed him to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed extension. Since then, he has started 19 games over four seasons with the Browns.

Sanders told 92.3 The Fan that he improved how he does “everything” this offseason, including how he sleeps, breathes and drinks water. Now Cleveland gets the live version: two quarterbacks, one job, and a camp battle about to start.

This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.