Could the Browns Really Be Close to Announcing a Starter at Quarterback?

With the quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders grabbing most of the headlines throughout the offseason and into training camp for the Cleveland Browns, it’s easy to see why any little speck of information regarding who might come out as the eventual winner is met with a weird certain mix of anxiety, optimism and relief.

One clear example of that phenomenon happened today, when head coach Todd Monken declared that the install portion of camp was over.

“Installs are over so today and tomorrow, before we take Sunday off, we’ll have a little bit better idea in terms of drilling down and who we want to be, who they are. But there’s a lot of things that go into each one of these players, that we’re just going to continue to evaluate”.

Todd Monken on his quarterback competition before day 9 of camp:

“Installs are over. And today and tomorrow we’ll have a better idea.” pic.twitter.com/pwsfEYnOXH
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) August 7, 2026

But while it might sound as though the team could be inching closer to finding out who will be under center come Week 1 of the regular season, the reality is that we probably still won’t know for a while. Remember, Watson and Sanders are practically guaranteed one preseason start before any final decision is made.

Plus, Monken had already shared that nothing was going to be decided during the install sessions.

What should we take away from Todd Monken’s latest comments, then?

To be honest, not too much. Saying “we’ll have a little bit better idea” could almost be like saying nothing. You’re supposed to be progressing through the stages of the process, so him actually saying that it’s what’s happening is really no news at all.

The only way Monken would really offer something meaningful was if he: a) announced a starter; b) shared who really has the inside track on the starting job; or c) admitted to a regression in the process. None of those three options are likely to happen anytime soon.

Monken’s recent statement reads a little like general manager Andrew Berry’s comments saying he feels “confident that we’ll” name a starting quarterback by Week 1, as reported by Browns’ Insider Mary Kay Cabot about a week ago.

No kidding. Unless, of course, the Browns plan on lining up with no quarterback or two at the same time during the regular season, until someone finally separates from the other.

The battle for the starting quarterback position in Cleveland has turned into the NFL’s biggest car crash. No matter how awful it’s truly become, we just can’t look away.

Either way, while Watson and Sanders are still suffering through some rough periods at practice, stating that the team should be closer to naming a starter is really no news at all.

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