Cleveland Browns: Shedeur Sanders Has Lofty Goals as Training Camp Approaches
The quarterback competition between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson will be closely watched once NFL training camps begin.
Sanders plans to win the battle and says that's only the beginning.
"I'm not content just being on no team," Sanders said on his You Tube Channel, via Pro Football Talk. "I'm trying to be one of the greatest. You've got to be thankful, but know there's still more."
Sanders and Watson are trying to silence naysayers. After a productive college career at Jackson State and Colorado, Sanders unexpectedly plummeted to the fifth round of the 2025 draft.
He was inconsistent after claiming the Browns' starting job late last season, completing 57% of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions while being sacked 23 times. He finished his rookie season with a 3-4 record as a starter.
Watson was once of the NFL's top quarterbacks with the Houston Texans, leading the league in passing yards in 2020. However, Watson's career has nosedived since his 11-game suspension in 2022 for violating the league's personal conduct policy. He has played just 19 games in four seasons with Cleveland, completing just over 61% of his passes for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He tore his right Achilles tendon in Oct. 2024 and re-tore it the following January, causing him to miss the entire 2025 season.
The Browns finished 5-12 last season, but Sanders said he never stopped competing. Cleveland won its last two games, including a 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17. Gaining confidence as the season progressed, Sanders hopes to build off that momentum.
"We were playing the Steelers. Their linebackers were hitting that game," Sanders said. "I'm on the pine the whole year. You get out there you're like, 'This is something. I could do something like this.'"
Pittsburgh Steelers: Will Joey Porter Jr. Sign a New Deal This Summer?
Steelers top cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is entering a contract year and wants a new deal. So far, Porter and Pittsburgh have been unable to reach a long-term agreement.
The Steelers historically don't negotiate new contracts once the regular season begins, so the clock is ticking on Porter and the Steelers. Former Pittsburgh cornerback Patrick Peterson isn't sure if a new deal will get done prior to Week 1.
"I don't know if it'll happen because Pittsburgh, they run business a little different from other teams," Peterson said via Yahoo Sports. "But I believe Joey is definitely well-deserving of a contract extension. He's a stud. He's a guy who absolutely erases teams' No. 1 receivers. I had the opportunity to be with him his rookie year, and it was quite impressive to see what he was able to do throughout that year."
Porter has just three career interceptions and has yet to be named a Pro Bowler or All-Pro. But Peterson says those accolades are in Porter's future, and that he's already a top NFL corner.
"I know you don't get a lot of pub because you don't have a lot of interceptions, but I'll tell you one thing: teams' receivers don't score on him, and a lot of guys don't catch the ball on him," Peterson said. "As a defensive back, that's the main objective."
Cincinnati Bengals: Will Older Defensive Tackles Deliver?
The Bengals signed two veteran defensive tackles during free agency, 28-year-old Dexter Lawerence and 31-year-old Jonathan Allen. B.J. Hill, who is 31 years old, was already part of their defensive line rotation, meaning the Bengals will rely on three tackles who've played a lot of NFL snaps.
Allen isn't worried. He says defensive tackle is a position where longevity is not uncommon.
"As a defensive tackle, you can play in the league at a high level a lot longer," Allen said via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. "Yes, there's a lot of physicality and flexibility and all that, but also all your knowledge and pre-snap awareness and pre-snap keys."
Lawrence's pass rush production with the New York Giants fell from nine sacks in 2024 to a half sack in 2025. After failing to earn a Pro Bowl nod for the first time since 2021, he enters the upcoming season determined to prove he's not past his prime.
"I've been seeing people talk down on me my whole life, or talk bad or whatever," Lawrence said. "I just know who I am. I know how I approach this game and how I feel about it and my impact on the game, even when it doesn't show up in the sack numbers.
