Deshaun Watson was supposed to have locked up the starting quarterback job by now.New Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken gave the veteran every chance to win back his old jersey in mandatory minicamp.Sanders is making a year two leapGettyBut it finished on June 11 with the battle still ongoing after Shedeur Sanders surprised everybody with his progress.ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler has been keeping a close eye on the contest.“Shedeur was decisive,” Fowler told NFL Live. “I was told that he’s got a presence about him that the new coaching staff noticed that they might have underestimated a little bit. “So, I expect this to go into preseason games. You’re going to see multiple weeks of this in Berea, [Sanders and Watson] going at it.”Sanders fought his way up from fourth in the depth chart in 2025 and showed flashes of promise while on the field.Improvement was clearly necessary and it appears he is doing everything he can to impress Monken.Watson has pedigree, however, and with the Browns still on the hook for his massive contract, the team seems determined to get its money’s worth.Earlier reports suggested that “everybody in that building knows” that Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam “wants Watson to play and try to earn” what’s left of his $230 million deal.Fowler believes the former Houston Texan is still in pole position despite Sanders keeping the door open a little longer than anticipated.“As was told to me,” he said, “Deshaun Watson went into the spring as the clear favorite, and that Shedeur Sanders has bridged the gap at least somewhat. The jersey is still Watson’s to loseGettySanders has been putting in the graft since his draft slideGetty“I still believe Deshaun Watson’s in a good position. “I’m told he was moving like a major athlete again, coming off those Achilles tears. He’s moving well, he’s fluid, looks like the athlete of old to most extent.”Deshaun Watson has one shot to save careerWatson hasn’t played since October 2024 but should be fully fit for the Week 1 game at the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 13.Sanders won’t give up without a fight, of course, and will have plenty of opportunity to impress in preseason.His Hall of Fame dad Deion admitted that the former Colorado star wasn’t perfect, but put part of the blame on Cleveland.“I would have wanted him to perform a little better, but that’s not just an individual thing. That’s a team thing,” Deion said via Covers.com. “A quarterback needs help tremendously from the offensive line, from the receivers, from the running game, from the coordinators as well.NFL's Greatest......Ranking the top 10......Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and moreTight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?“It’s not just a singular thing, like a defensive back. I don’t care what the pass rush is, (the DB) has got to do his job. “It’s a little different with a quarterback. He needs several things to go right for him to be successful.”Stay up to date on all things NFL across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.