Browns Legend Joe Thomas Not Happy With Shedeur Sanders Speculation
As the Cleveland Browns move towards training camp and ramp up the QB competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, Browns legend Joe Thomas has a bone to pick with people who think Sanders should be traded if he fails to win the job.
Appearing on 92.3 The Fan this week, Thomas dismissed the idea that the Browns should move Sanders after just one year. He called Sanders "a development project" that needs work and time on his development in order to truly discover whether he can be the team's starter.
"Shedeur was forced into action in the middle of last year before he was ready. He had some high moments and some low moments, as you'd expect from any quarterback. He's a development project. He's got a lot of work to do. He needs time to develop. If you're just gonna throw him away for a fourth-rounder, it makes no sense because we have no idea what he can be as our starting quarterback. Keep him around, and it's more likely than not that he'll have an opportunity to start, and then win that starting job for the long term if you keep him on the roster," Thomas said.
Sanders vs. Watson
Browns head coach Todd Monken declined to name a starter after offseason workouts, instead splitting first-team reps between the two passers throughout OTAs and mandatory minicamp before carrying the competition into training camp.
Watson enters camp with the experience edge, having completed 66.2% of his career passes for 17,904 yards, 123 touchdowns, and 48 interceptions, while Sanders is looking to build on an up-and-down rookie campaign in which he threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Although the Browns have emphasized that every practice matters, Watson has generally posted stronger offseason numbers, completing 90 of 133 passes with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions during open team drills, compared to Sanders' 79 completions on 113 attempts with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
Still, Sanders has drawn praise from coaches and team observers for his improved command of the offense, decision-making, and pre-snap recognition, keeping the race much closer than many expected entering the spring.
With neither quarterback separating himself decisively, Cleveland is expected to use training camp and preseason games to determine who will lead the offense when the Browns open the regular season, making this one of the league's most closely watched quarterback battles.
A trade before then looks highly unlikely.
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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 3:20 PM.