The race for the Cleveland Browns‘ starting quarterback role is truly heating up, with the preseason around the corner. While seasoned veteran Deshaun Watson was favored to start as QB1, second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders is poised to provide substantial competition following his offseason performances. Now, former NFL players Garrett Bush and Dustin Fox, as well as columnist Jason Lloyd, believe this could be Watson’s very last shot at glory.

“He’s done nothing for the Browns outside of playing maybe one good half of football,” Dustin Fox said on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show on July 1. “If he can’t beat out two essentially rookies who are not high draft picks, his career is over.

“Who is going to sign this guy if he can’t beat Shedeur or Gabriel? Even if he does and he plays mediocre, still not getting a chance next year.”

Fox’s take on Watson is backed by the numbers. He has not played a full season with the Browns since joining the team back in 2022. From sexual harassment allegations that cost him 11 games in 2022 to a season-ending surgery in his right shoulder in 2023, Watson played a total of 12 games in his first two years with the Browns.

2024 saw Watson’s season end during a Week 7 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals with an Achilles tear. He had started only seven games then and hasn’t been back ever since. Fox and Lloyd are almost certain that unless Watson performs this upcoming season, he might fade into anonymity as a free agent.

After missing the entirety of the 2025 season due to re-injuring his right Achilles tendon, Watson seems to be putting in the work before the 2026 preseason games start. The 6’3”, 223 lbs QB has reportedly been training at the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, according to Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot. Watson is reported to be working alongside private therapists and personal coaches to get his game to the highest level possible before facing Sanders in the much-anticipated race for QB1 in the preseason games. 

Sanders is taking the challenge just as seriously as his offseason training sessions prove. The first day of the Browns’ mandatory minicamp found Sanders throwing deep to  WR Denzel Boston and WR Isaiah Bond, both of whom were completing touchdowns. Sanders has clearly not lost the arm that earned him a Pro Bowl nomination in 2025.

Sanders started seven of the eight games he played in his rookie stint in 2025. He recorded 1,400 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns, leading Cleveland to a record of 3-4. The Browns may start him just to evaluate his game before the 2027 NFL draft, unless Deshaun Watson’s offseason performance convinces them otherwise.