The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback situation remains one of the biggest talking points of the offseason. While Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders continue to compete for the starting role, the team has offered little clarity on how the battle is unfolding. Chad Johnson, however, appears to have already made up his mind.

“Deshaun Watson is the starting QB for the Cleveland Browns,” Johnson confidently declared in the recent episode of Nightcap. “It is his job to lose. He has six weeks. I guarantee you. He has six weeks to make sure that the team is playing above or better than whatever the expectations might be for that team and that quarterback. If he’s not, Shedeur Sanders will fall in line as the backup and be the starter for the remainder of the season.” 

Johnson’s certainty stood out, particularly as Shannon Sharpe and Joe Johnson discussed the possibility of Sanders taking over the job much earlier. Days later, an X user named Dalvinthetruth shared a photograph of Johnson alongside Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy from a recent meeting. The image quickly fueled speculation online, with some fans connecting it to Johnson’s comments about the Browns’ quarterback hierarchy.

Johnson’s prediction also arrived at a time when Cleveland had yet to publicly identify a frontrunner. While the Browns are expected to carry the competition into training camp, Johnson suggested the organization already has a plan in place, with Watson opening the season as QB1 and Sanders waiting in the wings.

That outlook mirrors the belief held by many around the league that Watson still holds an edge because of his experience and contract status, even as Sanders continues to generate momentum.

Sanders is reportedly closing the gap through the OTAs. He has already played eight games in his rookie season and took the Browns to the end of the season with a 56.6% completion rate over 1,400 yards. He also made seven touchdowns, faced 10 interceptions, and had 23 sacks.

Those numbers only tell part of the story, however. Sanders spent much of his rookie campaign operating behind an injury-ravaged offensive line and one of the league’s least productive receiving groups. Despite the challenges, he showed enough flashes to convince many that he could eventually emerge as Cleveland’s long-term answer at quarterback.

Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson was out of the 2025 roster due to his Achilles injury. Of course, he holds the edge due to his veteran status and fully granted contract. Reports also suggest that he’s healthy as ever. But his performance at the OTAs was riddled with inconsistent and inaccurate passes.

The veteran enters the season under significant pressure. Since arriving in Cleveland in 2022, Watson has struggled to recapture the form that once made him one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks, while injuries have repeatedly interrupted any chance at building momentum.

With Watson attempting to re-establish himself and Sanders pushing for a larger role, fans have scrutinized every development surrounding the competition. The timing of Johnson’s comments and his recent meeting with Jeudy only added another layer to the conversation, prompting speculation that the veteran receiver may have offered insight into the quarterback situation. No evidence has emerged to support that theory, but it quickly gained traction online.

NFL community reacts to Chad Johnson’s probable source

Most fans seemed to be sure that the wide receiver was the source for Johnson’s claims around the Cleveland Browns quarterback room. 

“Facts…Jeudy is ths source for Ocho…Smdh 😂💯,” a fan commented. “If he’s getting this word from Jeudy, I feel for him man . 😂. Cause the way that KC and Denzel have come on, he may not even be on the team by game 1,” another fan added. Meanwhile, one more fan suggested, “He better stop listening to that mofo ….” 

Some fans argued that Sanders ultimately remains the franchise’s future regardless of who wins the opening-day job.

Others pointed to the financial side of the equation. Watson remains one of the league’s highest-paid quarterbacks, leading some to believe Cleveland would be reluctant to move away from him quickly if he begins the season as the starter.

“It’s obvious duh, he starting. They spent all this money on him now he’s healthy. You think they gonna have 40+ Million dollar QB on the bench? Sheduer is the future…,” a fan highlighted the financial aspects arguing why the Browns will let Sanders play.  

But the photograph gave rise to a few more speculations. One fan speculated that it’d give rise to some tension between Jeudy and Sanders. And if that happens, it could be a mirror of what happened in December 2025, when Jeudy and Sanders seemed to get into a heated debate on camera in the game against the San Francisco 49ers. However, he also believed that Sanders genuinely deserves to be a starter. 

“Now I’m on board for the Jerry Jeudy-Shedeur tension conspiracy. My problem is that I feel like Shedeur has legitimate football reasons to have reservations about him, but I don’t see it the other way around,” the comment read.