Deshaun Watson Has Taken Shedeur Sanders 'Under His Wing' in Browns QB Room

The veteran has been a "cheerleader" in Cleveland for Sanders and the other quarterbacks, per insider Mary Kay Cabot.

Sanders was picked in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns have a variety of quarterbacks to evaluate this summer as they enter the 2025 season without a clear starter. Veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett kicked off the summer competing against rookie draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders for the starting job and will likely continue to do so throughout training camp next month. All the while Deshaun Watson will be lingering as the high-priced quarterback recovers from tearing his Achilles tendon twice during last season.

However, Watson is reportedly chipping in beyond his recovery duties. Per Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot, Watson has been a "cheerleader" in Cleveland's QB room so far this offseason and in particular has played a mentor role to the young Sanders, as well as Gabriel.

"Watson, famously dubbed a 'big swing and a miss' by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam at the NFL Annual Meetings in March, has also taken Sanders under his wing to help him come up the learning curve quickly, and it’s been working," Cabot reported for Cleveland.com on Sunday. "Sanders’ Hall of Fame dad, Deion, publicly supported Watson when some Browns fans cheered while he was down on the field in tears with his retorn Achilles Oct. 20 against the Bengals, and Watson is only too happy to repay the favor."

Per Cabot's sources, Watson has also "been an awesome teammate inside the quarterback room and meeting rooms, and has been a great cheerleader for the four quarterbacks vying for the starting job in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. He’s been especially helpful to the rookies in Gabriel and Sanders, who are working overtime to remain in the starting mix."

Watson will count for $35.9 million against the Browns' cap as he enters the fourth season of his five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal. The franchise is surely pleased they're getting some value out of that despite Watson being sidelined until he's fully recovered from his Achilles injury, which may take all of the 2025 season.

It seems Sanders has a veteran mentor in the locker room as he enters a rookie campaign that will have a lot more eyes on it than a normal fifth-round pick would enjoy.

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