BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns will start Shedeur Sanders at quarterback for Sunday’s road game against the New Orleans Saints, head coach Todd Monken said Friday, as Deshaun Watson remains in the concussion protocol.
Watson is listed as questionable. Monken has not yet decided if Watson will be the backup, as he has not yet been cleared.
Sanders took all the starting reps in practice this week after Watson self-reported concussion symptoms Tuesday morning and was placed in the protocol.
It will be the first start of the season for Sanders, a 2025 fifth-round pick. As a rookie, Sanders made seven starts, completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He went 3-4 in those starts.
“Last year, I was able to see what I needed to see, feel different things during the games and understand what I need to get better at,” Sanders said Wednesday. “So, then going into this offseason, we worked on that, and training camp, of course, in this offseason, and overall, I’m just excited for the opportunity.”
Sanders has attempted just three passes this season in spot appearances during two games and has received limited practice reps in the regular season, but he split reps with the No. 1 offense during Cleveland’s quarterback competition in training camp.
“He’s very diligent and he likes to play football, has a natural confidence about him.” Monken said. “Just like any young player, they’ve got to play. … where he’s improved is his footwork, his drops, his mechanics, understanding where to go with the ball, sense of urgency in terms of working through his progressions, protections. There were so many things he needed to work on, and he’s done that like any young player. Any young player has a lot to work on, especially at the quarterback position. And you can see that from the moment we got here and that’s why we opened up the competition and we split the reps was because of his ascent.”
Dillon Gabriel, who returned from injured reserve last week and was the emergency QB in Week 8, could back up Sanders on Sunday. Rookie Taylen Green, a sixth-round pick who served as the emergency QB for the first seven games, will return to that role with Watson sidelined.
