By admin 
Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson entered the Cleveland Browns’ training camp with plenty of eyes focused on them. Many fans remain intrigued by who will win the QB1 battle and look forward to Todd Monken’s decision. The head coach now set a timeline for when he’ll name a starter. However, it won’t be soon.
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He didn’t provide an exact date but stressed that the Browns will have a starting quarterback by Week 1. Monken suggested that he will let things play out during training before determining who will win the role.
“The easiest way for me to say that, and it still won’t stop you from asking, not you particularly, but everybody in general, is the first game,” Monken said, via Cleveland.com. “We’re going to have to have a starter for the first game, right? I mean, ultimately, I’m not going to decide who the starter is. They decide by their play. Their play decides who the starter is.
“I don’t have any preconceived notions of how they played in the past or how they’re going to play. I only can, with my eyes, judge. And guys got to play well around them. I think we’ve shored up some things up front. We’ve added some weapons on the perimeter, so I think that’s going to help. But they’ll decide who plays. I don’t decide who plays. The players decide who plays.”
Sanders and Watson lead the race to win the job, while Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green are positioned behind them.
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Sanders started the last seven games last season. The former Colorado Buffaloes star took over for Gabriel after the latter suffered a concussion and went 3-4. Sanders completed 120-of-212 passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Watson, on the other hand, aims to reclaim his spot after missing the entire 2025 season. The three-time Pro Bowler underwent surgery in January 2025 to repair his re-ruptured right Achilles tendon. He has returned to 100% and is ready to prove that he deserves to be Cleveland’s QB1.
It remains to be seen who emerges on top, but the training camp battle is expected to be fierce. The Browns will open their 2026 regular-season campaign with a road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13.
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This story was originally published July 30, 2026 at 6:40 AM.