The Browns’ quarterback race may have gotten a little clearer after Thursday’s joint practice with the Bills, and not in the way Shedeur Sanders needed.
Coming into the work against Buffalo, Sanders reportedly had to separate himself from Deshaun Watson in a big way to stay alive in the battle for the starting job through Cleveland’s home preseason game against the Bills on Saturday. Instead, the practice sounded like a wash.
Browns reporter Jason Lloyd of The Athletic said on 92.3 The Fan that neither quarterback really seized the moment.
“The same as it's been throughout all the camp,” Lloyd said about how Watson and Sanders performed against the Bills during an appearance on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan.
“I didn't think one really had a particularly better day than the other. I thought it was exactly what we've seen.
One or two good throws from Deshaun. One or two, 'what was that?'
Same with Shedeur. Shedeur had one or two good throws I saw across the middle.
And it was just like, just a kind of a ho-hum day. The best quarterback on the field was [Buffalo's Josh Allen].”
For Watson, that kind of day appears to be enough to keep him in front. Lloyd said Watson has held the edge in the competition since late April, and that Thursday did not change the picture much. Sanders is expected to start Saturday against Buffalo, but ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reported that first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken said after practice that “older” Cleveland starters won’t play in the game.
The Browns could still make a decision on their Week 1 starter as soon as Sunday or Monday, giving their preseason finale against the New England Patriots on Aug. 27 the feel of a dress rehearsal.
Lloyd also made his read on where things stand in the battle.
“I do think Deshaun has outplayed Shedeur,” Lloyd added during the segment. "...
The way that they are seeing it is that Deshaun has been better. Deshaun had the lead coming in because of his experience.
He hasn't run away with it by any means. But I think in their minds, he has performed better throughout camp, and it's his job at least to start the year.”
Monken may not announce the winner on Saturday, but if Watson sits out the Bills game entirely, the coach could still reveal plenty about how he’s lining up his Week 1 depth chart.
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