BEREA, Ohio — Decision time is coming in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition, but coach Todd Monken maintains he’s still evaluating — and that his plan for Saturday’s preseason game remains unchanged.Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders split the reps with the No. 1 offense in Thursday’s joint practice with the Buffalo Bills. Watson was first up and started last weekend’s preseason opener. Sanders will start Saturday’s game versus Buffalo.Sanders got the two-minute situation in Thursday’s joint session and moved the offense inside the Buffalo 15-yard line before a third-down sack essentially ended the Browns’ chances of matching the Bills’ score. On a day Monken said his team “looked like we belong” on the field against one of the NFL’s best, both quarterbacks had positive moments.Cleveland Browns Camp: QB competition, Boston impressing and moreRobert MaysWatson had the day’s longest completions, both to speedy rookie KC Concepcion, but he also threw the only interception of the controlled practice. Sanders relied on Cleveland’s other rookie wide receiver, Denzel Boston, to twice move the chains in the two-minute drill and tried to hit Boston on a fade route as time expired. But Boston was well covered and unable to come down with the catch.Thursday’s sharing of the work was part of Monken’s plan. After Watson played the first half Saturday in Chicago and then Sanders played the next three series, that will flip this weekend — though many of the starters for both teams won’t be on the field.“I haven’t looked at the tape from today, and we haven’t played Saturday, so that’s all still part of (the evaluation),” Monken said. “Just like every day is.”Watson and Sanders have alternated days with the No. 1 offense since the spring in every practice but one, a session almost two weeks ago in which Watson took all the No. 1 reps and performed well. The Browns’ only two scoring drives in the preseason opener came with Watson behind center, though both quarterbacks were up and down in that game and in the practice days that followed.The joint practice loomed as both a key evaluation point and probably one of the last. Watson got the first six snaps Thursday in the first drill, while Sanders was first up in the seven-on-seven drill and the two-minute situation (1:50 on the clock, one timeout, needing a touchdown to win).The Browns have held 18 training camp practices and have two next week ahead of their preseason finale Thursday versus the New England Patriots. Monken said this week that he’d like to have a starter in place already and, because he doesn’t, would like to be able to name one by Monday. But he hasn’t committed to that, leaving open the possibility Sanders could extend the competition if he performs well Saturday.“We wanted to make sure we got them reps (Thursday),” Monken said. “But right in the middle of the (first team drill), you sub in the quarterback, and that’s not always easy. But screw it — spot the ball (and) make a damn play. That’s part of it, too.“What we wanted to see today (was) do we belong? Does our first 11 give us a chance to move the ball and score? I felt that way today.”Thursday was a needed change of environment. Things have been testy between the offense and defense in Browns camp, and by now the Cleveland defense has seen just about everything the offense wants to run regardless of who’s under center. Now comes a change in venue — and Watson’s first action at Huntington Bank Field since some fans cheered after he suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in October 2024.Monken, who spent the last three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator, wasn’t employed by the Browns for any of Watson’s 19 previous starts. Until last weekend, Monken rarely mentioned the past or any potential dynamics involved with a player and a franchise-altering trade that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam labeled “a swing and miss” in early 2025.But Watson remains under contract for one more season because of the Browns’ salary-cap commitments to him. If Monken decides Watson gives these young Browns their best chance, the fanbase will expect Watson to do what he hasn’t done before: help the team win consistently.It probably wasn’t a coincidence that in a close, shared competition with just one noticeable difference — Watson’s 73 games and seven seasons of NFL experience versus Sanders’ seven starts as a rookie — Monken chose to start Watson in the lone road preseason game and Sanders in the first home one.The stadium might be only a quarter full Saturday by the time Watson takes the field, so it’s hard to say if the home crowd’s reaction toward him will be negative. Might he get booed?“I don’t care,” Watson said Wednesday, repeating that he’s still focused on mastering the offense and finding his timing after last week marked his first game action in 22 months.“Every situation, every rep I get, every opportunity I get to just go out there and play football is just as important as playing just one quarter or playing a lot in practice,” he added. “I think the more reps I get, the more opportunities I get to see, are more beneficial for myself and just improving my game and just catching up from what I missed the last two years.“There’s always room to grow, even Week 1 to Week 17. … Every opportunity, every rep that we get standing back there in the pocket, is definitely an opportunity for us to get more comfortable.”That’s even if it gets uncomfortable Saturday, or in a future game in Cleveland. And even if the competition has to continue beyond this weekend.