Ever since Mary Kay Cabot reported that Deshaun Watson has a stronger chance to start in the Cleveland Browns, it upset Shedeur Sanders' brother, Shilo. But now, NFL veteran analyst Skip Bayless gave his take on Watson, showing support for the football quarterback.

"Jimmy Haslam badly wants Deshaun Watson to be the starting QB and a successful QB next year to prove him ultimately right so he can say, 'See, I told you he can do this,'" said Bayless on the May 1 episode of The Arena: Gridiron.

On April 28, Cabot, the Cleveland Browns' correspondent, tweeted on X that Watson "has taken the lead over" Shedeur in the quarterback competition.

This clearly means that Shedeur would play second fiddle. However, head coach Todd Monken clarified that they have not yet made the call on who will start the game.

"I’m not there yet, so I can’t say (there’s a leader)," he said.

During a three-day voluntary minicamp before the 2026 NFL Draft, Watson led most quarterback drills in the lone practice open to reporters. However, Monken emphasized that Shedeur was planned to see more reps across the entire camp.

In the meantime, Shilo pushed back on Cabot's report. He called out the reporter on X, claiming that she has some "agenda" against Shedeur.

But to Bayless, Cabot is a trusted source.

"I believe that Mary Kay Cabot, who has been covering the Cleveland Browns for almost 40 years, is getting this straight from the horse's mouth," Bayless added.

The last time Watson took the field for the Cleveland Browns was in 2024. He completed 63.4% of his passes for 1,148 yards and recorded five touchdowns against three interceptions. He then suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.

Shedeur, on the other hand, handled starting duties over Cleveland’s final seven contests last season. He threw for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions as the team went 3–4.

NFL Analyst’s Take on Deshaun Watson Update to Motivate Shedeur Sanders

At Pro Football Talk, veteran NFL insider Mike Florio believes that subtly revealing their move to play Watson over Shedeur is a tactical move. It has been chosen to indirectly motivate Shedeur.

"Maybe they put this out there to get him to realize, ‘We mean it, you got to buckle down and take this seriously.’ It’s the old Brett Favre attitude," said the analyst.

Florio suggested this based on a clip from the Browns’ first voluntary workouts last month, which showed Sanders was not taking practice seriously enough. The clip, which showed a play-action drill, showed Watson looking sharp.

So maybe this is a way adopted by the Browns staff to give Shedeur that extra push, believes Florio.

What are your thoughts on the Browns' quarterback competition? Share in the comments.

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar