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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders if facing an uncertain future.<\/p>\n
Shedeur Sanders may have to wait much longer than another bad Sunday to get his shot with the Cleveland Browns<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite Cleveland\u2019s ugly season opener, Deshaun Watson appears positioned to get an extended opportunity to work through his struggles<\/a>. That could leave Sanders on the sideline well into the season, even if the offense continues to sputter.<\/p>\n Watson could remain the starter at least through October, according to Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports<\/a>, whose conversations at Browns training camp pointed to considerable patience from first-year coach Todd Monken.<\/p>\n \u201cQuarterback Deshaun Watson wasn\u2019t terrible in his return to action, even though the Browns were. Even if he had flopped, he wasn\u2019t in much danger of losing his job. On my visit to Browns training camp, multiple people told me first-year coach Todd Monken planned to give Watson a long leash early in the season,\u201d Vacchiano said. \u201cSo expect him to remain the starter at least through October \u2014 for better or, more likely, for worse.\u201d<\/p>\n It would be a frustrating development for Sanders, who lost the starting competition and needs time on the field to make his case as Cleveland\u2019s long-term answer.<\/p>\n Todd Monken Sticking With Deshaun Watson After Rough Opener<\/p>\n Monken has already passed on his first opportunity to make a change. After declining to address his Week 2 quarterback plans immediately following the loss, Monken said Monday that he anticipates Watson starting against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>. Reviewing the film gave him enough reason to stay with the veteran.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got to play better around him,\u201d Monken said Monday<\/a>. \u201cWe got to call it better, and he\u2019s got to play better. It wasn\u2019t just our inability to function consistently as an offense; it was a byproduct of \u2018we\u2019 \u2013 coaching and playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Watson finished the 34-10 loss to Jacksonville with 205 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. But those numbers were helped considerably by a fourth quarter that began with Cleveland trailing 34-3. Through three quarters, he had thrown for just 100 yards.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s only been two weeks he\u2019s gotten all the reps, and there were some really good things on film, some things that you can build on, and there were some others that operationally, we\u2019ve got to get better at,\u201d Monken said. \u201cThere\u2019s only so many looks you get from week to week, be it red zone concepts, third down concepts, and I did think that when he had time, when he understood the concepts, he didn\u2019t play tentative, that he let it rip.\u201d<\/p>\n The Browns had problems beyond the quarterback position. Their offense struggled to get organized, and the defense did little to keep the game competitive.<\/p>\n Shedeur Sanders Still Has a Path to Browns Starting Job<\/p>\n \n Watson\u2019s apparent cushion does not mean Sanders is out of the picture this season. The Browns \u201cwidely viewed\u201d Watson as their best option internally, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated<\/a>. But starting with Watson also gave Monken a more manageable route to a change if the offense failed to respond.<\/p>\n \u201cMonken stuck to his guns, went with Watson (widely seen internally as the best option), and did it knowing that it\u2019d be much easier to pull the plug on him and go to Sanders than to do the opposite. And he did leave open the possibility that a change would come in-season, with a set of interesting Sundays situated early on into Cleveland\u2019s football season,\u201d Breer wrote.<\/p>\n![\"Cleveland](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/cleveland-browns-v-jacksonville-jaguars-jacksonville-florida-september-13-l-r-shedeur.jpg\")
GettyShedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson take the the field for warmups prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n