The Cleveland Browns could be trending in a certain direction at quarterback.
Cleveland has four quarterbacks on the roster with Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Taylen Green all competing for roster spots. Although Gabriel is in the running, it does appear to be a two-horse race between Watson and Sanders for the starting quarterback job.
However, ahead of OTAs, FanDuel Sportsbook released odds for the Browns’ Week 1 quarterback, and Watson is the odds-on favorite.
Watson is given -174 odds to be the starting quarterback in Week 1, which implies a 63.5% chance of winning the job. Sanders, meanwhile, has the second-best odds at +136, which implies a 42.4% chance of winning the job.
Given that the oddsmakers set Watson as a sizable favorite to win the job, it is concerning news for Sanders and his future with the Browns. Sanders ended the year as the Browns starting quarterback and showed flashes of being a long-term answer, but it appears Todd Monken will want to go with the veteran in Watson.
Watson, meanwhile, hasn’t played an NFL snap since he tore his Achilles for the first time on October 20, 2024.
Browns Head Coach Letting QB Battle Play Out
Cleveland hired Todd Monken as its new head coach, and one of the biggest questions he will have to make is who starts at quarterback.
Monken wanted to have his starting quarterback named before training camp, but ahead of OTAs, he said he has to let it play out.
“It’s my job to let it play out,” Monken said to WKRK-FM in Cleveland.
Monken, meanwhile, also appeared on 92.3 The Fan and reiterated that his goal is to have a starting quarterback named before training camp.
“I would love to have that,” Monken said. “I’m not there yet, so I can’t say that. We’ve been on the field 3 practices. … What I’ve seen after three days, that gives us a 40,000-foot view of where we’re at, but that can change once we get back on the field.
“There’s only so many reps you get, you’ve got to start to target towards who is gonna start opening day. That can still change. That can change, even if someone is gonna get two-thirds of the reps and someone’s getting one-third of reps because you’re still gonna play preseason games.”
However, ahead of OTAs, Monken has yet to announce the starter, but oddsmakers believe it will be Watson.
Ex-Cleveland Coach Gives Promising Watson Update
Ahead of OTAs, one of the biggest questions is how Watson will look upon his return.
Watson hasn’t played in years, but Kirk Herbstreit had a run-in with former Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and he gave a positive update on Watson.
“I was walking the other day here in Nashville, and I go to this park. Jim Schwartz is there and he was walking with his dogs. We started talking and he brought up Deshaun, like, ‘Deshaun’s healthy and back.’ I thought he was medically retired,” Herbstreit said. “I didn’t know he was back in the mix, and he said, ‘No, man. I think he’s back.’ Of course, Schwartz didn’t stay and he’s going to sit this year out. But it was interesting to hear about Deshaun.”
Watson is in the final year of his five-year, $230 million deal.
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