Shedeur Sanders dealt fresh blow in ‘fake’ QB battle as Browns head coach reveals Bills decision

Shedeur Sanders will suit up for the Cleveland Browns in their second preseason game, but the rest of the starters might not join him on the field.

The Browns have a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, before hosting them at Huntington Bank Field in front of a crowd on Saturday afternoon.

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But if all goes well, the first-stringers won’t be required twice.

Browns head coach Todd Monken suggested on Monday that he and Bills counterpart Joe Brady had a conversation about how they would handle this week’s work.

As it stands, the plan is for both NFL teams to use their starters in the joint practice, and then bench them for Saturday’s game.

“We both talked about that, if we see out of our ones, our group, our older players what we want to see on Thursday, they would not play in the game,” Monken revealed.

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“We agreed upon that.

“The plan is that we’ll play our ones a significant amount against each other on Thursday in a controlled environment.

“Not that the other guys aren’t going to get reps, but in a controlled environment and see where we’re at.

“I would assume, if it’s anything like we’ve practised before, that it will be on point with what we want.”

Monken added that he’s excited to see how the Browns ‘stack up’ against a perennial playoff team in camp, and appeared to put more of an emphasis on the practice session, over the actual preseason game.

That decision, perhaps, comes as a blow to Sanders.

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The second-year star is locked in a battle with Deshaun Watson to be named Cleveland’s starting quarterback, and it seems he’s losing.

Browns head coach questioned over ‘fake’ QB competition

Watson started the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears last weekend, and was by far the best Browns QB on the field.

He went 11-for-15 with 126 yards, and a 98.2 rating. Sanders, meanwhile, went 6-for-11 with 79 yards and an interception, to land a 39.6 rating.

Dillon Gabriel, who isn’t expected to be a massive factor in the competition, threw 23 yards and an interception, while also taking two sacks against the Bears.

Watson, as it stands, looks set to take the starting role. And after hearing Monken’s comments on Monday, some fans already think the battle is over, because Sanders might not get a fair shot with the starters on Saturday.

“Soooo… Shedeur wouldn’t get a chance to play any reps in the game with the 1’s? The Browns seem sold on Watson. Here’s to another season of misery,” one posted on X.

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“Oh yeah, that QB competition is over,” another said.

“Fake competition…” a third claimed.

“So, once again, this was never about a true evaluation. What is the point of gaslighting your fans? Seriously done with this organization,” a fourth wrote.

“This feels like a set up man. Sounds like no matter what practice looks like, even if Shedeur shines in practice (which he’s done more than Watson), if they don’t play the starters but HE’S the QB that starts in preseason, now he has to do more with less just to be seen as even,” a fifth said.

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Many fans believe Sanders will be hamstrung against the Bills, and that Cleveland’s quarterback competition is already over.

It certainly looks like it’s Watson’s job to lose, and only a seriously impressive performance — likely without the starters around him on Saturday — could get Shedeur back into contention.