‘If I’m Shedeur [Sanders], I’d Want Deshaun [Watson] To Start’ — Former Chargers Star Ready To Watch $230M QB Crash and Burn

It’s finally over. The Cleveland Browns have named Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yet, while Shedeur Sanders won’t be QB1 to begin the year, it doesn’t necessarily mean the second-year pro will be rotting on the bench all season long.

In fact, one former NFL All-Pro believes Sanders should actually be pleased with the outcome, and he actually has a pretty good case.

There’s nothing Sanders can do now about not being named the Browns’ starting QB. All he can do is work his behind off and hope that the next time coach Todd Monken calls his number, he’s ready to run away with the job.

That’s the mentality former All-Pro pass-rusher Shawne Merriman has advised Sanders to take now that he’s primed for a backup role behind Watson. Merriman believes this outcome is actually better for Sanders.

“If I’m Shedeur, I would actually want Deshaun to start because if he doesn’t play well, they’re not going back, and Shedeur starts for the year no matter what,” Merriman pointed out.

Merriman may not be wrong here. It’s always easier for a team to go with the veteran because, in theory, they should be more prepared to lead their team to victories on game day.

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It always makes more sense to turn to the younger player later, in hopes that they’ve continued to develop and possibly learn from the veteran’s mistakes while maturing along the way.

It never looks good when a coach places their faith in a young arm right away, only to later realize they made a mistake and have to pull him out of action when things get ugly. Those types of live errors can cause scarring and shattered confidence in young QBs.

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Many football minds (including Tom Brady) believe most QBs are better off sitting and observing right when they enter the NFL rather than being thrown to the dogs and asked to read pro defenses on the fly.

Sanders has already experienced both sides of the coin, in a way. He didn’t see his first game action until Week 11 of his rookie season. Still, for some, that might have been too soon for the fifth-round pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Nevertheless, Sanders gained seven starts of valuable experience along the way, and now he’s better equipped for his second season of play. The question is, when will he get a chance to strut his stuff again?

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.