Just days before kickoff at EverBank Stadium, Browns QB2 Shedeur Sanders’ longtime representative, Hellion “Boog” Knight, spoke out on Cleveland Browns’ QB situation, posting, “Stop tagging me and asking about Shedeur. The Browns named their starter. So let’s put our attention and focus on the starting QB. I wish all media outlets would do the same. Let’s just talk about the starting QB every day. There’s no need to be mentioning Shedeur for now.” But that call for patience evaporated as soon as the Week 1 game between the Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars kicked off.
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Deshaun Watson’s sluggish return left Cleveland’s offense at a standstill, failing to reach the end zone for over 58 minutes. The first passing TD came with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter when the contest was already out of reach at 34–3.
Deshaun’s start to the game was more alarming, as he threw an interception in the opening drive to Foyesade Oluokun. Then, he almost threw his 2nd pick of the night straight to a Jaguars defender on the second drive. Shedeur Sanders witnessed Watson’s poor showing from the bench as Hellion Knight found it impossible to stay quiet and expressed his feelings on social media, labeling the Browns’ performance “atrocious”.
“Good thing I’m here for the Jags and Trav. I would be completely drained if I were here cheering for the Browns today. This is atrocious,” Hellion “Boog” Knight wrote on X.
Knight serves as the head of operations at Young Money APAA Sports and is Shedeur Sanders’ manager.
During training camp, Cleveland’s staff repeatedly defended naming Watson the starter by claiming he was “better operationally ” than Shedeur Sanders.
But as Jacksonville widened its lead and it became somewhat insurmountable, Hellion Knight also pushed back against the idea of introducing Shedeur Sanders while resting Watson.
“Please don’t make any subs today. Let this play out till the end,” Knight wrote on X, clearly preferring to let Watson and the staff finish what they started without Shedeur Sanders influencing the game in any way.
Deshaun Watson only managed to throw for just 205 yards off 16-of-22 completed passes that earned him a poor passer rating of 97.7. But the Browns QB debate has been raging all offseason. And it peaked during the preseason, especially after the Week 2 preseason game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns.
Shedeur Sanders started for the Browns, throwing for 74 yards and an 8-yard TD on 9-of-11 passes after opening the afternoon with 8 consecutive completions at 81.8% pass completion.
In contrast, Watson took over in the second half, managing just 35 yards and an interception on an ugly performance at 41.7% pass completion.
Frustrated home fans booed Watson, prompting the veteran to fire back in his postgame press conference by calling the crowd ‘disrespectful.’
That backlash escalated when ESPN analyst Rex Ryan publicly declared Cleveland should cut Watson on the spot. That lingering hostility carried straight into Week 1, at least from those who wanted Shedeur Sanders to start.
If Deshaun Watson continues with a sluggish performance in Week 2, the outing can easily force HC Todd Monken’s hand to bench the veteran and elevate Shedeur Sanders to QB1.