Browns' Shedeur Sanders to start at QB vs. Saints with Deshaun Watson in concussion protocol - NFL.com
By Google News Sports ·
The Browns' offense will look a bit different in Week 9. Shedeur Sanders will make his first start of the 2026 season on Sunday for Cleveland against the New Orleans Saints, replacing Deshaun Watson, who remains in concussion protocol. Browns coach Todd Monken said he hasn't decided whether Watson will be active if he does clear protocol by Sunday. "He's still not able to do team reps," Monken said of Watson. "He can do individual, he can do some routes, been in meetings, but you're not able to do any of the team reps, which makes it difficult." Watson was limited in his return to practice Friday and is officially listed as questionable to play. Sanders will be tasked with leading an offense that gained 319 yards last week but scored just six points in a 27-6 defeat in Pittsburgh. Cleveland (5-3) needs to keep pace in the AFC North, as it's slipped to third entering Week 9 with the Steelers (6-2) atop the division and the Bengals (5-2) residing in second. A 2025 fifth-round pick out of Colorado, Sanders took over as Cleveland's starter in the back half of the 2025 season, appearing in eight games (seven starts) and posting a 3-4 record while completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards and a 7-10 TD-INT ratio. While producing positive moments, Sanders' first season concluded with plenty of questions to answer and a lack of firm evidence he'd be capable of taking over as the Browns' long-term answer under center. Sanders lost the preseason quarterback battle to Watson, who has played well in his first action since his season-ending injury in 2024. Watson had back-to-back 300-yard games and has led five-game winning drives this year (tied for the most in the league), but also took a league-high 33 sacks. Watson is now slated to miss at least a game in each of his…
Originally published by Google News Sports
