No Pads No Pressure”: NFL World Reacts as Deshaun Watson Has ‘Best Day of Camp’ Amid Shedeur Sanders Competition — Yahoo Sports

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. © Imagn

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is one of the most anticipated players heading into the 2026 NFL season, as he has not played in over a year. The 30-year-old missed the entirety of the 2025 campaign due to a torn Achilles. In fact, in the four years he has spent with the Browns so far, he has played in just 19 games. Nevertheless, Watson is gearing up for a momentous return later this year. What makes Watson’s return different this time around is that newly-minted coach Todd Monken’s Browns now have incoming second-year standout Shedeur Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders. This means the two quarterbacks will have to compete for the QB1 spot. In a recent report by Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot, Watson had his best day of training camp thus far.

“#Browns Deshaun Watson had his best day of camp by far, with nice passes to KC Concepcion, Jerry Jeudy, Denzel Boston and more. He played with confidence and was more accurate than on any other day. It helps to have the full complement in weapons in team.”

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 5, 2026

NFL fans and spectators are not overreacting to Watson’s reportedly great performance.

“No pads, no pressure. I’m not knocking his performance, but he always looks great in shorts with no pressure. Half our d is not even on field. Full pads will be more impressive,” one fan said .

Other users on X/Twitter shared how Watson can regain his team’s trust and confidence.

Watson has been with the Browns since 2022 after being traded by the Houston Texans, who drafted him with the 12th pick in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. With his Browns tenure being injury-riddled so far, Watson will have to produce remarkable outings during the offseason to regain the starting role from Sanders, who was QB1 throughout the 2025 season.

Former NFL player Gerald McCoy believes the Cleveland Browns are leaning more towards Shedeur Sanders

The story of the Cleveland Browns’ 2026 offseason so far has been who will be their QB1 come the next campaign: Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders. With a new coach in Todd Monken, the team will have to make a decision soon, as the NFL is opening in a month. In a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, former NFL player Gerald McCoy weighed in on the discussion by claiming Sanders is favored to take the role.

“ I believe it’s Shedeur Sanders simply because they’re going young. Todd Monken comes in. You see a video of him coming in, and he’s shaking hands with somebody. Who is it? Shedeur Sanders. They hit on the draft last year… Deshaun Watson has had every right and every opportunity to be the starter for this team, but they see what Shedeur does, and I secretly think they want Shedeur to win the job. I’m going with Shedeur Sanders,” McCoy said.

With Sanders at the helm, the Cleveland-based franchise finished with an overall record of 5-12 last year.