Shedeur Sanders’ gesture towards rival turns heads as Browns QB gets one up on Deshaun Watson

Shedeur Sanders might be locked in a battle to be starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, but he still has time to help his teammates.

Much has been made of the head-to-head between Sanders and veteran $230 million signal caller Deshaun Watson, but there are two more quarterbacks in the room behind them.

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One of those is rookie Taylen Green, who arrived in Cleveland as a sixth-round pick out of Arkansas.

Sanders himself slipped to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, so knows what it’s like to wait for a team to call on draft day.

While he might be just eight months older than 23-year-old Green, he already has a year of experience in the league, and appears to be taking on a mentor role already.

After the first day of training camp, Sanders was seen helping out his rookie teammate, and stayed on the practice field to talk through some movements.

Footage of the interaction was shared by Daniel Oyefusi, a Browns reporter for ESPN.

“Shedeur Sanders staying after practice with rookie QB Taylen Green,” Oyefusi wrote.

“Practice reps are limited this summer for the sixth-round pick amid a QB competition and crowded room.”

The clip of Sanders and Green quickly went viral on X.

Given his profile as somewhat of a college football celebrity coming into the league, many expected the son of Deion Sanders to be a potential problem in the locker room, and that contributed to his 2025 draft slide.

But nothing he did in his own rookie season gave any weight to that idea, and his effort on Day 1 of camp left many fans praising his actions.

“Cleveland hasn’t had a Leader like Shedeur in forever. QB1,” one wrote on X.

“I thought he was such a terrible teammate and a distraction to the team? Dumb *** media lol,” another said.

“The hate for Shedeur is crazy! So glad to see him helping a younger player, this is leadership!” a third wrote.

“Lil things like this how you win the job,” a fourth said.

Shedeur Sanders gets one-up on Deshaun Watson in Browns QB battle

Sanders stayed on the practice field to help Green after Watson took an early blow in the battle to be Browns starter.

On Day 1 of camp, the 30-year-old veteran took the majority of his reps with the starting unit, during alternating 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 play.

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Sanders, meanwhile, was with the second unit on the other field.

Both men are under intense scrutiny, and The Athletic’s Zac Jackson reported that Watson made a ‘slow start’.

“The team’s first practice served as a reminder of previous money the Browns spent — and didn’t necessarily spend wisely,” he wrote.

“The quarterback competition is underway, and Deshaun Watson was mostly dreadful as the first passer up with the No. 1 offense on Wednesday.”

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Jackson added that Watson ‘mostly produced interceptions and misses’ and was picked off on consecutive plays in the first full-speed team drill.

Taking to X, he also noted that it was intriguing to see rookie wide receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston working exclusively with Sanders on Wednesday.

Both of those young stars are expected to play key roles for the Browns in 2026, so the fact they are working with Shedeur might be a hint of things to come.

The quarterback battle, of course, will rage on through the preseason. But Sanders already appears in good shape, thanks to his effort both in practice and after it.