Deshaun Watson Leads Browns QB Race, Shedeur Sanders Not on Trade Block

Much has been made of the Cleveland Browns quarterback situation this offseason. 

Ultimately, SportsBoom continue to hear that veteran Deshaun Watson, finally at the completion of a $230M, fully guaranteed contract, is very much the favourite to end up starting in Week 1, regardless of all the speculation about other quarterbacks on the roster.

But the Browns are not expected to move Shedeur Sanders anytime soon, according to league sources, with head coach Todd Monken a believer in him and with Watson coming off consecutive lost seasons and with a deep injury history. 

Sanders just fell to the back end of the draft a year ago; he hasn’t done anything to increase his value, and one NFL executive suggested the Browns would have difficulty getting back more than a fifth-round pick for him.

“Monken likes this kid,” one GM told SportsBoom. “Why would they trade him now?”

Selling Low Makes No Sense

Indeed, it doesn’t appear to make much sense, and the odds of Watson getting through a season healthy may be slim at this point, and the Browns are very much in rebuilding mode after just dealing their best player, pass rusher Myles Garrett, this month. 

They are precisely the kind of team that needs to be exploring developmental QB options now, ahead of the 2027 draft, even if only to increase the stock of someone like Sanders so they can eventually trade him down the road for more than the draft pick they invest in him.

“I don’t think he’s going anywhere,” one NFL personnel exec said of Sanders, whom the Browns selected 144th overall in 2025. 

Monken spoke highly of Sanders to Ravens coaches and officials while the offensive coordinator in Baltimore as Sanders was preparing for the draft, and Watson has no upside at this point in his career and with his bloated contract finally expiring. 

The Browns also drafted quarterback Dillon Gabriel in 2025, who lacks NFL size or an NFL starting quarterback’s arm, and he could be someone who is no longer there, with former head coach Kevin Stefanski one of his bigger champions in Cleveland last season when he coached there. 

However, no one SportsBoom has spoken to believes Gabriel carries any real trade value, even with his NFL starting experience.