The Browns have settled the quarterback picture for Week 1, and the answer puts Shedeur Sanders squarely in the backup role behind Deshaun Watson.
Watson will start Sunday in Jacksonville, with Sanders listed second on the team’s unofficial depth chart. Rookie Taylen Green is third, while Dillon Gabriel opens the season on injured reserve because of a back injury.
The chart mostly confirmed what had been building in Berea for days. Daniel Oyefusi reported that Todd Monken still views Sanders as the No. 2 quarterback for the opener.
“Shedeur Sanders is expected to be the Browns’ backup QB in Week 1, Todd Monken said.” Shedeur Sanders is expected to be the Browns' backup QB in Week 1, Todd Monken said.
That leaves Green as the emergency-style option, though Monken said three quarterbacks on game day is a lot, even if carrying extra arms can offer flexibility. Green could still be used in a package if the coaching staff wants to add a wrinkle.
For Sanders, the move comes after a summer full of movement around the pecking order. Cleveland kept him on the 53-man roster and placed him at QB2, even after trade talk surfaced with an AFC rival earlier in the summer and then faded away.
The quarterback competition shifted several times during voluntary workouts, with Mary Kay Cabot first reporting Watson in front and later saying Sanders had closed the gap in camp. Still, Monken gave Watson the first snap.
Watson’s hold on the job comes after he returned from injury and won the offseason race under Monken. Sanders started the final seven games last year, but those starts still left him behind Watson in the eyes of the staff. In those seven games, Sanders threw for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The outside view hasn’t been much kinder. Coaches and executives voted Sanders last among thirty-five quarterbacks in The Athletic’s summer poll, and one exec said the gap to competent play looked huge. That evaluation followed him right into this depth-chart decision.
Watson’s standing with the fan base remains shaky, and the Browns know how quickly this can change. One rough month could send Sanders back under center in a hurry.
For now, though, the plan is clear: Watson first, Sanders second, Green third, with kickoff in Jacksonville set for 1 p.m. ET on CBS Sunday.
Sanders will be dressed and waiting.
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