The Cleveland Browns will open training camp later this month, and just like last year, the biggest storyline remains the quarterback room. A couple of things haven’t changed either. Shedeur Sanders was part of a quarterback competition last year, and he’s in one again this year. He wasn’t expected to start then, and he’s still not a lock to do so now, with Deshaun Watson reportedly holding the edge over the second-year quarterback, according to Mary Kay Cabot.

“You can change it up and run the show, you can make choices and just basically be the point guard of this offense,” Cabot said. “And Deshaun has more experience playing like that. It’s what he did in Houston under Bill O’Brien. And Todd Monken knows that. He has seen that side of Deshaun Watson. He’s watched that side of him for years.

“And they both speak the same language when it comes to air-raid, forverts, four verticals, things like that. They can talk that language, and they don’t have to ask each other a bunch of questions about that. How do you do this? How do you do that? So there has been a learning curve. There has been an adjustment for Deshaun, but not as big a one as there has been for Shedeur.”

Deshaun Watson hasn’t proved himself to be an efficient dual-threat quarterback like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, but the veteran has proved that he can move his legs. Under Bill O’Brien, while running the Houston Texans‘ offense, Watson tallied over 14,000 passing yards and 104 touchdowns, while also rushing for over 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Todd Monken, meanwhile, has taken over as the Browns’ head coach after serving as the Baltimore Ravens‘ offensive coordinator. He coached Lamar Jackson and helped establish him as one of the league’s best dual-threat quarterbacks. On top of that, Monken is well aware of Watson’s playmaking ability.

In Monken’s first-year as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator, Baltimore hosted Cleveland in a Week 10 matchup. That gritty Week 10 performance against the Baltimore Ravens in 2023 was one of the most remarkable displays of toughness in recent Browns history. Playing through a displaced right glenoid fracture and a high left ankle sprain, Watson completed all 14 of his passes in the second half.

“Have I seen Deshaun Watson play before? Of course. I saw him play against us when I was in Baltimore,” Monken said.

Shedeur Sanders, meanwhile, is entering the second season of his career. While he turned heads as a rookie and even earned the label of “phenomenal” from general manager Andrew Berry this offseason, Watson still appears to hold the edge over the young quarterback.