Browns name Watson starting QB for preseason opener

BEREA, Ohio -- Deshaun Watson will start the Cleveland Browns' preseason opener against the Bears in Chicago on Saturday.

Shedeur Sanders will start the team's second preseason game at home against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22. Browns coach Todd Monken informed the quarterbacks of his decision after practice Wednesday.

Watson and Sanders have been alternating first-team practice reps in Cleveland's quarterback competition

Saturday's exhibition will mark Watson's first game since he tore his right Achilles tendon in October 2024. He sat out the 2025 season after undergoing a second Achilles surgery in January 2025.

Monken said before Wednesday's practice that he hoped to play whomever starts at quarterback for one half. The quarterback who does not start would then play in the third quarter.

Watson said the preseason would be a "great opportunity" for him as he has played in only 19 games because of suspension and injuries since being traded to the Browns in March 2022. Since making his debut in Cleveland, Watson's 33.1 Total QBR would rank last among qualifying quarterbacks if he had enough starts to qualify.

"I'm super excited," Watson said Wednesday. "I think all the hard work that I've put in with the training staff, with my team, my personal team, to get to this stage has been tremendous for myself. So, I'm super excited for those opportunities and can't wait for it."

Sanders, the 144th pick in the 2025 NFL draft, started the final seven games of his rookie season. Sanders went 3-4 as a starter, throwing seven touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He also ran for a touchdown. Sanders recorded a 18.9 QBR as a rookie, the fifth-lowest mark among 696 quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts in the QBR era (since 2006).

Coaches, though, have praised Sanders' pre-snap and post-snap development, dating to the offseason workout program.

"We approach practice like a game," Sanders said Wednesday. "So it's the same amount of focus and experiences. So that's why I'm excited: to feel how similar does it feel to practice, honestly. Because it's a different type of intention and a mentality that we go out there every day with."

Reporting from ESPN contributed to this story.