Browns split preseason starts Sanders, Watson

The Cleveland Browns have not named a Week 1 starting quarterback, but coach Todd Monken has set out how the competition will be handled in preseason. Monken said Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson will each start one preseason game, with Cleveland using the next week to decide which quarterback opens on Aug. 15 at Chicago and which starts the Aug. 22 home game against Buffalo. NBC Sports, citing comments Monken made to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, reported that the leader of the competition would most likely start the third preseason game on Aug. 27 against New England. ### Which two preseason games are being used to sort this out? The Browns’ preseason schedule gives Monken three checkpoints before the regular season. Cleveland opens at the Chicago Bears on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. ET, then hosts the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22 at 1 p.m. before closing against the New England Patriots on Aug. 27 at 8 p.m., according to the team schedule. (nbcsports.com) NBC Sports reported Monken’s plan is to split the first two starts between Sanders and Watson, then reassess. That leaves the third preseason game as the likely final public test before Cleveland opens the regular season on Sept. 13 at Jacksonville. (clevelandbrowns.com) ### What exactly did Todd Monken say about the timeline? Todd Monken told Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network that one quarterback would start the first preseason game and the other would start the second, according to NBC Sports’ account of the interview. NBC Sports said Monken also indicated the next week would determine who gets the Aug. 15 start in Chicago and who gets the Aug. 22 assignment against Buffalo. (nbcsports.com) NBC Sports later reported Monken clarified comments about the preseason plan, but the outlet’s Browns page said he was responding to the report that Watson and Sanders would each start a preseason game. The broad outline — one start apiece in the first two exhibitions — remained the key point in that account. (nbcsports.com) ### Where does the competition stand in camp right now? ESPN reported this week that Cleveland opened training camp with the quarterback competition still active and with Watson and Sanders continuing to split first-team work. The same report said Cleveland’s fourth day of practice included five interceptions by the defense, three of them thrown by Watson and one by Sanders. (nbcsports.com) Another NBC Sports item published Aug. 2 described the Browns’ quarterback room as one of the few “dead-even” competitions in camp and said Sanders and Watson were alternating practice reps with the starting unit. That description was NBC Sports’ characterization, not a team declaration, but it matched the public structure Monken has outlined. (espn.com) ### Why is Cleveland still waiting to name a starter? Andrew Berry, the Browns’ general manager, said at the NFL scouting combine in February that the team did not need to make a quarterback decision anytime soon. ESPN reported then that Berry said both Sanders and Watson would be among the candidates competing to start in 2026. (nbcsports.com) Monken had previously hoped to settle the job earlier. NBC Sports reported that the Browns coach originally wanted to name a starting quarterback by the end of the offseason program, but that timetable slipped as the competition carried into training camp. (espn.com) ### What are the next dates to watch? Aug. 12 is Cleveland’s final open practice date of camp, according to the team’s training-camp schedule. Three days later, the Browns play the Bears at Soldier Field, where either Sanders or Watson will take the first preseason start under Monken’s plan. (nbcsports.com) Aug. 22 brings the second quarterback start at Huntington Bank Field against Buffalo, and Aug. 27 is the likely decision point if Monken follows through on giving the competition leader the final preseason start against New England. Cleveland opens the regular season on Sept. 13 at Jacksonville. (nbcsports.com) (clevelandbrowns.com)