Who Should I Start? Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders

Saturday, December 6, 9:14 PM

The Cleveland Browns are planning to keep quarterback Deshaun Watson (Achilles) on their roster next season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. While Watson is considered unlikely to play this season as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles that required multiple surgeries, the team has expressed interest in keeping him on the roster, noting that the 30-year-old's veteran presence is valuable for their pair of rookie quarterbacks in Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Another big reason Watson is expected to return is due to the fact that the Browns would have to take on a dead salary of close to $135 million if they released him before June 1 and a $53 million cap charge if he was designated as a post-June 1 cap casualty. The record for dead-cap money was set by the Denver Broncos with quarterback Russell Wilson at $85 million, which they split into two years, but releasing Watson would cost the Browns significantly more. With Watson set to return in 2026, he's expected to compete with Sanders and Gabriel for Cleveland's starting gig.

Sunday, December 14, 9:31 PM

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders completed 18 of his 35 pass attempts for 177 yards and threw three interceptions in Sunday's 31-3 loss to the Chicago Bears. Sanders, scoring just 3.48 fantasy points on Sunday, is building connections with fellow rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and rookie wide receiver Isaiah Bond. That pass-catching duo accounted for 77.4% of Sanders' total passing yards and 50% of his completions for the day. Even though the rookie quarterback was under siege all afternoon in Chicago, he was able to complete five of his six passes when blitzed. However, his overall completion average was just 51.4% for the day, one of the worst in the league. Sanders draws the Buffalo Bills defense in Week 16, which is a tough matchup for quarterbacks despite their middling quarterback pressure rate of 34.4% and a 6.8% team sack rate. Looking ahead, Sanders is likely to remain a desperation deep-league Superflex option with an unreliable floor for fantasy managers.