In Cleveland, a city that has long measured hope in quarterback controversies, head coach Todd Monken finds himself holding two futures in open hands. Deshaun Watson, a $230 million franchise investment shadowed by suspension, injury, and public estrangement, faces a challenge from Shedeur Sanders, a rookie who has quietly transformed his most glaring weakness into emerging strength. The competition is not merely about a depth chart — it is about redemption, reinvention, and which story a franchise chooses to believe in.
Browns Keep QB Competition Open: Monken Alternates Watson, Sanders Into Training Camp
Block out the good or the bad and just execute
Mark
Why does Monken keep both guys in the mix? Why not just name Watson the starter and move on?
Mimi
Because Sanders actually showed something during minicamp that Watson didn't—he was faster with his decisions, getting the ball out quicker. That's the exact thing that's been killing Sanders since college. If he's fixed that, he's a different player.
Mark
But Watson is the veteran, the expensive investment. Doesn't that count for something?
Mimi
It should. But Watson's been broken for two years—suspension, injury, injury again. And when he finally played last season, Cleveland turned on him so badly they cheered when he got hurt. That's not a small thing to overcome.
Mark
So Sanders is actually winning this competition right now?
Mimi
He's closed the gap in a way nobody expected. But Monken was careful to say processing speed is what Sanders still has to prove at training camp. It's one thing to look sharp in shorts. It's another to do it when people are hitting you.
Mark
What does Watson need to do to win back the fanbase?
Mimi
Execute. Win games. Block out the noise. He said it himself—he can't control what fans think. He can only control what he does between the lines. But after a season where they cheered his injury, that's a tall order.
Mark
Is there any chance both of them fail and the Browns have to look elsewhere?
Mimi
Monken didn't say that, but the fact that he's still uncertain in June suggests he's keeping his options open. This competition is real, and the stakes are real for both of them.
The Pulse
- The Browns enter training camp without a named starter, an uncomfortable rarity for a franchise already carrying years of quarterback instability.
- Watson's standing with Cleveland fans has collapsed so completely that his season-ending Achilles injury was met with cheers from the Dawg Pound — a wound no contract clause can heal.
- Sanders, once criticized for holding the ball dangerously long, has shown coaches a measurably faster release and sharper decision-making during minicamp, narrowing a gap many assumed was permanent.
- Monken is alternating first-team reps between both quarterbacks rather than anointing a leader, signaling that the competition is genuinely open and the answer is not yet his to give.
- Training camp now becomes the crucible — Sanders must prove his minicamp improvements hold under sustained pressure, while Watson must execute with a precision that silences doubt and reclaims trust.
In Cleveland, a city that has long measured hope in quarterback controversies, head coach Todd Monken finds himself holding two futures in open hands. Deshaun Watson, a $230 million franchise investment shadowed by suspension, injury, and public estrangement, faces a challenge from Shedeur Sanders, a rookie who has quietly transformed his most glaring weakness into emerging strength. The competition is not merely about a depth chart — it is about redemption, reinvention, and which story a franchise chooses to believe in.
Todd Monken arrived in Cleveland with two quarterbacks and no clear answer. After mandatory minicamps, he still doesn't have one — and he's made peace with that. The Browns head coach will alternate Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders through first-team reps at training camp, and when asked whether the depth chart would be settled by Week 2, Monken was candid: he'd love to have it now, but he simply doesn't.
Watson came to Cleveland as the presumed starter, a $230 million investment meant to anchor the franchise's future. Instead, the past two years became a reckoning — an 11-week suspension for legal troubles, a broken throwing shoulder, and then a season so disappointing that when he tore his Achilles and was carted off the field, the Dawg Pound cheered. Sanders, meanwhile, had become the city's reluctant hope, even as a rookie posting 10 interceptions and a 56.6 percent completion rate across eight games.
But something shifted during minicamp. Sanders had long carried a habit of holding the ball too long — a tendency that followed him from Colorado into the NFL, where in one game against San Francisco he averaged 3.37 seconds before releasing, the longest any Browns quarterback had taken in three years. Now, coaches are seeing something different. Monken noted that Sanders is making quicker decisions and getting the ball out faster. Quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian described watching Sanders work over the past ten to twelve weeks to master his footwork and accelerate his progressions as genuinely fun to witness.
Watson is not conceding anything. He framed the competition as mutual support rather than warfare, noting a personal connection to the Sanders family that predates Cleveland. But he also acknowledged the weight of the moment — the skepticism, the noise — and spoke about the necessity of locking in once the ball is snapped and simply executing.
Monken's message to Sanders is clear: sustained decisiveness is the barrier between him and the starting role. For Watson, the task is proving that rust and a fractured relationship with the fanbase won't define what comes next. Training camp will be the proving ground. By August, one of them will have to make the choice easy.
Todd Monken arrived in Cleveland with two quarterbacks and no clear answer. Now, after the mandatory minicamps, he still doesn't have one—and he's made peace with that.
The Browns head coach will alternate Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders through the first-team reps at training camp, he announced this week. When pressed on whether he'd have the depth chart settled by Week 2, Monken was candid: "That'd be great. I don't know if I will. I'd love to have it now. We just don't." It's an unusual position for a head coach to occupy in June, but the minicamp sessions revealed something neither man expected—Sanders has closed a gap that looked insurmountable just weeks ago.
Watson arrived in Cleveland as the presumed starter, a $230 million investment meant to anchor the franchise's future. But the past two years have been a reckoning. An 11-week suspension in 2022 for legal troubles, a broken throwing shoulder that sidelined him in 2023, and then last season—a season so disappointing that when Watson tore his Achilles and was carted off the field, the Dawg Pound cheered. The fanbase had turned. Sanders, by contrast, had become the city's hope, even as a rookie struggling through eight games with 10 interceptions and a completion rate of 56.6 percent.
But something shifted during minicamp. Sanders took all the first-team reps on Tuesday, the opening day. Watson got the bulk of them on Wednesday. The difference, according to Monken, was processing. In his Colorado days, Sanders had a habit of holding the ball too long, absorbing punishment and losing yards. That tendency followed him into the NFL—in Week 13 against San Francisco, he averaged 3.37 seconds before releasing the ball, the longest any Browns quarterback had taken in three years. Now, though, the coaches are seeing something different. "He's being more decisive," Monken said. "It just feels like he's making quicker decisions. The ball's coming out of his hands." Quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian echoed the assessment: over the past ten to twelve weeks, Sanders had worked to master his footwork, learn the offense, and accelerate his progressions. "It has been fun to watch," Bajakian said.
Watson, for his part, is not conceding anything. He spoke this week about his relationship with the Sanders family—he's known Shedeur's brother since their SMU days, when he'd visit the campus—and framed the competition as mutual support rather than warfare. "We both have the opportunity to go out there and put out the best product for the team and let Monken and the organization choose who goes out there, and we're going to support each other," Watson said. But he also acknowledged the weight of the moment. The fans, the noise, the skepticism—none of it matters once the ball is snapped. "When I step in between the lines, I gotta lock in on the task at hand," he said. "Block out the good or the bad, whatever comes with it, and just go out there and execute."
Monken's message to Sanders was clear: processing speed is the barrier. If Sanders can sustain the improvements he showed during minicamp—the quicker decisions, the faster releases—he may have seized control of a competition that looked decided just weeks ago. Watson, meanwhile, must prove that a season of rust and a skeptical fanbase won't derail his redemption. Training camp will be the proving ground for both. The head coach isn't ready to choose. By the time August arrives, one of them will have to.
Notable Quotes
He's being more decisive. It just feels like he's making quicker decisions. The ball's coming out of his hands.— Todd Monken on Shedeur Sanders' improvement
When I step in between the lines, I gotta lock in on the task at hand. Block out the good or the bad, whatever comes with it, and just go out there and execute.— Deshaun Watson on handling fan pressure and competition
Want the full story?
Read the original at Essentially Sports ↗
Sports