RG3 Calls Out Browns for 'Fake' QB Competition Between Watson and Sanders

The Cleveland Browns are running a quarterback competition that, according to former Browns signal-caller Robert Griffin III, was decided long before the first snap. Deshaun Watson took the field in the team's preseason opener against Chicago and stumbled through two quarters—fumbling on a strip sack, throwing no touchdowns, moving the ball for 126 yards on 11 completions. Shedeur Sanders followed and threw an interception, then gave way to Dillon Gabriel as the Bears rolled to a 34-10 victory. By any measure, neither looked sharp.

Yet head coach Todd Monken emerged from that loss insisting the competition remained open. When Monken announced that Sanders would start Week 2 against Buffalo—a decision he framed as only fair given the circumstances—it landed on the podcast "Outta Pocket with RGIII," and Griffin decided to say what he believed many were thinking: the Browns had orchestrated a charade.

Griffin's argument was direct. The team, he said, should have simply announced in April that Watson would start because Cleveland had committed $230 million to him and wanted to recoup that investment. Instead, the organization created theater around a competition it had already won. "If Shedeur Sanders was actually in a quarterback competition, he would have already won the job by leaps and bounds," Griffin said. "He has outperformed Deshaun Watson all offseason, all training camp. And you're telling me now that because he threw one interception, one bad throw, oh, he's not gonna be the starter? That means you already had the decision made."

The pattern felt familiar. Last season, under then-head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Browns cycled through quarterbacks without committing to anyone, leaving Sanders—a rookie—to take snaps with an unfamiliar offense and zero first-team reps in practice. This year began differently under Monken, who gave Watson a genuine audition. But as the preseason unfolded, Sanders had been the steadier presence through minicamps, organized team activities, and training camp. One bad throw in one game, Griffin argued, shouldn't erase months of superior play—unless the decision had never actually been in doubt.

Monken's own words seemed to confirm the suspicion. After the Chicago loss, he called the competition "relatively close" while acknowledging that different players might take the field with Sanders in Week 2. He framed giving Sanders a start as something the team "owed" both players. The language was careful, almost apologetic—the sound of a coach explaining a decision that had already been made.

The numbers told their own story. Watson's passer rating of 98.2 looked better than Sanders' 39.6, but Griffin pointed out that Watson's fumble looked like the play of someone who hadn't taken consistent snaps in six years. Sanders, meanwhile, had been working with the first team all summer. One interception against a defense he'd barely faced seemed a thin reed on which to hang a quarterback's entire future.

As Sanders prepared for Buffalo, the stakes felt different than they had a week earlier. The home crowd had already booed Watson during training camp. Local radio had already predicted he'd face a hostile reception. If Sanders could find his rhythm against the Bills—if he could make the throws and manage the game—it might not matter what the front office had decided in private. The Dawg Pound was watching, and they had their own opinion about who should be under center.