Bills clash is Shedeur Sanders’ personal Super Bowl with NFL future on line in ‘mad’ Deshaun Watson battle

There is a way for Shedeur Sanders to lose the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback battle and still win in the end.

There’s also a way for the rookie Pro Bowler to get beat out by a 30-year-old Deshaun Watson and blow his best shot to ever be a real NFL starting QB.

Getty

Sanders gets his turn vs Buffalo Bills

“It was the right read, it just slipped,” said Sanders in the Browns’ preseason opener, after throwing an interception and being outplayed by Watson.

“That’s what makes me mad a little bit. But any decision I make, I know is the right decision. I just didn’t execute the decision, but the right decision was made. So every day I look at my decision making. How’s my decision making? That’s how I grade myself.”

Sanders’ confidence, swagger and inexperience all stream through in those overloaded words.

Every decision he makes is the ‘right decision?’

NFL Weekly Newsletter - SIGN UP!

talkSPORT is your home for NFL in the UK as we launch our biggest year of coverage yet!

2026 promises to be an epic year for NFL on talkSPORT – and we want you to join us for the ride.

MORE INFO & SIGN-UP HERE!

This season will be our biggest ever with live commentary of 90+ games, including behind-the-scenes access to international games and all three London fixtures, plus bumper coverage of Super Bowl 61 at SoFi Stadium.

Exclusive interviews, hard-hitting opinion, latest front-office drama and top breaking news – all delivered straight to your inbox each week.

Definitely not.

The 24-year-old QB and son of Deion ‘Prime Time/Coach Prime/Neon Deion’ Sanders couldn’t even make it through the beginning of training camp without having to apologize to reporters.

Dating back to his peak days with the Colorado Buffaloes, it’s been hard to separate social media fiction from football reality with the long-hyped Sanders.

How good is he, really?

From college to draft, Sanders has stayed in the news

Did years of being overhyped play into Sanders being promoted by top NFL draft experts as a top-five pick?

Was Sanders wronged as a rookie by the Browns, who had too many QBs at the start of 2025 and eventually fired Kevin Stefanski as head coach?

getty

Getty

The NFL is the ultimate meritocracy and Sanders will soon be presented with his new professional reality.

He will either excel on Saturday vs the Buffalo Bills while playing with and against backups or Watson will be named the Browns’ Week 1 starting QB.

“Obviously, turning the ball over is not great and I won’t survive a long time in the league doing that,” Sanders said.

Browns need a long-term QB solution

He went 3-4 as a rookie starter, while throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (seven).

But Sanders’ athleticism and inner drive were on clear display in a 364-yard, three-TD outburst during a loss to the Tennessee Titans, and he’s been one of the NFL’s biggest names ever since he fell to the No. 144 overall pick of the 2025 draft for still-questionable reasons.

Every sign currently points toward Todd Monken, the Browns’ rookie 60-year-old head coach, promoting Watson for the starting job.

Getty

NFL's Greatest......

Ranking the top 10......

Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?

Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?

Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and more

Tight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?

Even though Watson has been a $230 million disaster for Cleveland, Sanders is making an absurdly affordable $1.1m a year, and the Browns enter 2026 building toward just being a winning team.

Watson has edge but Sanders has promise of youth

“It goes back to what Todd and the organization and coaching staff want,” Watson said.

“Every opportunity I get, I want to continue to improve and take one step forward. Every day will be a challenge, but that’s the whole thing about the NFL. It’s a business, and every day is a challenge.”

If Watson gets the nod, it’s still a smart bet to believe that Sanders will start for Cleveland in 2026.

Injuries, defeats and fan frustration could quickly build a consensus for another QB change.

But with Arch Manning and another collection of young arms waiting in 2027, this could be the last time that Sanders receives an open competition to win a starting job in the NFL.

If he can’t beat out an aging Joe Flacco and an almost forgotten Watson in back-to-back training camps, Deion’s son might not be destined for NFL greatness.