Deshaun Watson's Status as QB1 Over Shedeur Sanders Addressed By Browns HC After Blowout Loss

For right now, Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken isn't expecting to make a quarterback change ahead of the team's Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Monken told reporters Monday he "anticipates" sticking with Deshaun Watson under center.

Watson threw an interception on Cleveland's first drive Sunday, and that set the tone in a 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished with 205 passing yards and one touchdown along with two turnovers. He was also sacked five times.

With the Browns in the midst of a rebuild, one argument in favor of picking Watson over Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel is that he has a clear edge in experience. Maybe he can be a steady hand for one year while the franchise assesses its long-term options and lays a foundation.

But Watson doesn't even look like a good stopgap option anymore. The offense was out of sorts until the Jaguars built a big enough lead to where they could coast to the finish line.

At some point, it becomes impossible to ignore the fact Watson was last a viable starter in 2020, and he has missed two full seasons since then.

In addition, whatever goodwill the three-time Pro Bowler had left in Cleveland evaporated with his combative press conference following the Browns' preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills in August.

Still, The MMQB's Albert Breer reported Watson was "widely seen internally as the best option," hence his QB1 status.

If the 31-year-old fails to make major improvements, it's going to be difficult to say he's keeping the starting job on merit rather than the Browns' desire to recoup anything from what is one of the worst contracts in NFL history.

And the longer Sanders is holding a clipboard, the more it will appear to be a vote of no confidence from his coaches.