The Cleveland Browns’ Week 1 quarterback picture is clearer: Shedeur Sanders is expected to serve as the No. 2 behind starter Deshaun Watson when Cleveland opens the season at Jacksonville.
Head coach Todd Monken said Wednesday that he anticipates following the depth chart with Sanders as Watson’s backup. The clarification matters because Monken had also left open the possibility that rookie Taylen Green could have a specialty package in the opener, creating questions about whether Green’s role might change the active quarterback order.
For now, Sanders remains the player positioned to take over the offense if Watson cannot continue. Green can still have a designed role without replacing Sanders as the conventional backup.
That is a meaningful distinction for the Browns, who enter 2026 with one of the league’s most closely watched quarterback rooms.
Sanders’ QB2 role survived the Taylen Green wrinkle
Monken named Watson the Week 1 starter in late August and said at the time that Sanders had made significant progress. Cleveland’s official preseason notes also identified Sanders as the Week 1 backup.
The uncertainty resurfaced when Monken discussed Green, a rookie whose size and speed give Cleveland a different type of quarterback tool. Green is 6-foot-6 and can stress a defense as a runner, making it logical for the staff to consider a small package of designed plays.
FSN previously examined how a Taylen Green package could change Cleveland’s Week 1 offense. Wednesday’s update does not eliminate that possibility. It answers a different question: if Cleveland needs a quarterback to run the regular offense because Watson leaves the game, Sanders is expected to be next.
The backup designation is important because Watson’s leash is a season-long story
Monken has been clear that naming Watson the starter was not intended as a week-to-week decision. That gives the veteran a real opportunity to establish himself without every incompletion turning into an immediate quarterback change.
It does not make Sanders irrelevant.
Backup quarterbacks matter for every team, but the role carries extra attention in Cleveland because Watson is returning from significant injuries and because Sanders already has regular-season experience from 2025. If Watson misses time, the Browns do not have to introduce an untested player to the offense from scratch.
That gives Sanders’ preparation a dual purpose. He has to be ready for the emergency job on Sunday while continuing to develop into a player Cleveland could trust with a larger role later.
What Cleveland wants from Sanders now is different from what fans want
Public quarterback debates tend to focus on a binary question: should the backup be starting?
The Browns’ coaching staff has a more immediate job. It has to prepare Watson to run the offense, keep Sanders ready with fewer first-team repetitions and decide whether Green’s athletic package is worth one of the limited active-game roles.
For Sanders, that means winning the week rather than winning an argument. He needs to know the game plan well enough to enter without the offense shrinking, continue improving his timing and pocket decisions, and take advantage of every practice rep available behind Watson.
That development is particularly important because the backup job can become a moving target during an NFL season. An injury, a performance downturn or a schematic change can create opportunity quickly. Players who are ready before that opportunity arrives have a chance to keep it.
Green’s package can coexist with Sanders as QB2
The Browns do not have to choose between using Green and keeping Sanders as the backup. They are different decisions.
A specialty package is designed around a narrow set of plays that exploit a particular skill. Green’s mobility can force Jacksonville to account for quarterback runs, option concepts or movement that looks different from Watson’s normal menu.
The No. 2 quarterback role is broader. It requires command of protections, third-down answers, two-minute offense, red-zone calls and the ordinary playbook if the starter is unavailable for an extended stretch.
Monken’s Wednesday clarification suggests Cleveland sees Sanders as the better fit for that full emergency responsibility while still exploring ways to use Green selectively.
Week 1 will show how much of the quarterback plan is real
Game-day actives will provide the next piece of evidence. NFL teams have to balance quarterback depth against special teams and positional needs, and Monken acknowledged earlier in the week that dressing three quarterbacks can create roster-management complications.
If Sanders is active as the conventional backup and Green is also available, Cleveland will have maximum flexibility. If only two are active, the decision will reveal which role the staff values more for the opener.
Either way, Sanders has now received the clearest answer available before game day. Watson starts. Sanders is expected to be next. Green remains an intriguing changeup rather than the established replacement.
For a quarterback room that has generated questions throughout the offseason, that is useful clarity heading into Jacksonville.