Shedeur Sanders is in line to start Sunday in New Orleans, and the quarterback he would replace offers two lessons. Deshaun Watson is tied for the NFL lead with five fourth-quarter game-winning drives, and he has taken a league-high 33 sacks. Sanders can borrow the first and needs to avoid the second.
Watson is in the concussion protocol, and Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports that Sanders is likely to start against the 2-5 Saints. Watson can still play if he passes all of his concussion tests by Saturday.
Watson was sacked eight times in the 27-6 loss at Pittsburgh, and he took the blame. “I’m going to always put the sacks on me,” he said. “So if I can find checkdowns or throw it away as much as possible, that’s what I need to do.”
Checkdowns before comebacks
Those five comebacks include the last-play win over Tennessee, but Cleveland’s problems at Pittsburgh started much earlier in drives. Offensive coordinator Travis Switzer said the offense was not good enough on conversion downs, partly because of lost-yardage plays and penalties on early downs, and that it did not score touchdowns in the red zone.
Sanders handled the first-team work Wednesday, and Switzer liked what he saw. “He made some good throws and checked it down when he should,” Switzer said. “Overall, I thought it was a pretty good day for him.”
Head coach Todd Monken wants more of that. In Sanders’ four snaps in relief at Pittsburgh, “there was a couple plays he could have helped us out with a check,” Monken said.
A week to get ready
Monken has planned extra walkthroughs and meetings for Sanders, the Browns reported. Sanders has also stayed involved on the sideline during games, joining Watson and quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian as they discuss each series. For the game plan itself, see how Cleveland is preparing for the Saints with Sanders.
Sanders started the final seven games of 2025, going 3-4 with 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. New Orleans will test him in the middle: Switzer said the Saints’ interior linebackers challenge both the run game and pass protection.
Asked how he could get the offense going earlier, Sanders made a point of not knocking the starter. “I don’t want to just come in here and just try to discredit Deshaun and everything he’s done,” he said. “I think it’s just doing my job, not doing too much.”
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