BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson will start at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in their preseason opener on Saturday in Chicago.Browns coach Todd Monken made the announcement Wednesday after the team’s final full practice session of the week. Monken has said multiple times that he planned to start Watson in one preseason game and Shedeur Sanders in another, and the first-year Browns head coach repeated that the competition is not over.Watson and Sanders have alternated days operating the No. 1 offense since the spring with only one exception: Saturday’s practice, in which Watson got all the first-team reps and probably had his strongest throwing session of the summer.Browns QB battle remains up for grabs early at training campZac JacksonMonken said all healthy Browns players will suit up and should plan to play some on Saturday. His loose plan is for the starting offensive line to play a series or two and for Watson to play the first half. Monken said Sanders will then play in the third quarter, and that the same playing time plan will be used when the roles flip for next week’s preseason game and Sanders gets the start.Watson hasn’t taken a snap in game conditions since October 2024. He missed all of last season while recovering from a twice-torn right Achilles tendon, but it long felt like Monken believed Watson’s experience and mobility gave him at least a slight edge through a competition that, before last week, didn’t seem to have a timeline for a winner.That should change in the next week or so, though, as the Browns host a joint practice with the Bills on Aug. 20 before Cleveland and Buffalo play a preseason game on Aug. 22. Though the preseason game work will end up being close to even, Monken hasn’t committed to a plan for the joint practice and the chance to watch both quarterbacks in a controlled but competitive setting as the competition presumably nears its end.For now, the coach says the job is still up for grabs, even as the team began to shift from the installation stage toward the next phases of training camp late last week. After a rocky, interception-laden start to training camp, Watson has consistently moved the offense in game-simulation practice periods. Monken has said repeatedly that Sanders is improving but needs to show more command of the offensive operation, an opportunity the preseason game setting should provide.Sanders took all of the No. 1 reps in practice Wednesday, and Monken informed both Sanders and Watson of his decision after Wednesday’s practice.The team flies to Chicago Thursday and will hold a walk-through practice Friday. Monken plans to play most of the offensive line starters just one series before subbing in some younger players on Saturday, and he’s hopeful that the end of the first half will present the Browns with a hurry-up situation in which Watson can be evaluated.“My job is to just keep trying to win the day, get better a little bit each time,” Watson said. “Can’t rush anything. Just get out there and let the football things I’ve been doing my whole life take care of themselves.”Aug 12, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms