Browns Coach Todd Monken Reveals How Browns’ Quarterback Competition Will Play Out

From the looks of it, the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback situation will start shaking itself out pretty soon.

Speaking from the owners meeting in Phoenix, Browns’ head coach Todd Monken has already admitted that, despite the fact the team has stated there will be an open competition for the starting job, not all contenders will be subject to the same conditions.

According to ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, Monken shared that the reps between quarterbacks would not be divided equally at the start of offseason workouts.

While acknowledging that the share of snaps would change daily to ensure a “fair competition”, per Mary Kay Cabot from Cleveland.com, Monken also revealed that the team will start things off based on “what we’ve seen in the past and where year ended”, Oyefusi reported.

At the NFL’s league meetings, Browns HC Todd Monken said QB reps won’t be divided equally to begin offseason workouts.

Who starts out getting the most reps will be decided on “what we’ve seen in the past and where year ended.”
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) March 31, 2026

While having Monken seemingly zero in on Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders for his quarterback competition when he talks about “what we’ve seen in the past” and “where [the] year ended”, it’s curious to hear about a fair competition where the contestants aren’t on equal footing.

What Todd Monken’s comments in regards to splitting reps among quarterbacks mean for the Browns

At this point in time, not having Sanders start offseason workouts as QB1 would be a major upset, regardless of owner Jimmy Haslam apparently opening the door for a Watson redemption story recently.

Sanders finished last season leading the Browns in wins over division rivals Steelers and Bengals in Weeks 17 and 18, the only consecutive victories for Cleveland all year. He was also the only Browns’ quarterback to win more than one game in the season, guiding the club to three Ws during his seven starts.

Watson, on the other hand, hasn’t started a game since October 20, 2024, and hasn’t led Cleveland to a win since September 15th, 2024. He hasn’t led the club to consecutive victories since Weeks 9 and 10 of the 2023 campaign.

The forgotten man here is Dillon Gabriel, who received a share of first team reps last year as a backup, before taking over the starting gig in place of Joe Flacco, who was ultimately discarded via trade. It’s not the first time Monken focuses on just Sanders and Watson when he talks about quarterback competition, while general manager Andrew Berry seems like the only guy left on the team willing to give Gabriel a fighting chance at getting his job back.

Gabriel left the starting lineup thanks to a concussion last year, but was never reinserted after Sanders took hold of the driver’s seat.

Will the Browns’ starting quarterback competition be reduced to just Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson for the whole offseason?

Well, yes and no. Odds are the Browns will add another arm, either through the draft or free agency down the road, with Berry stating he preferred leaning towards a youngster.

This means that whomever gets to join this quarterback room will likely get at least some reps in with the team, quite possibly a larger share than Gabriel’s whose future on the franchise’s roster seems in peril.

The fact that Monken basically shared that he hasn’t seen Gabriel working out at team headquarters at all since his arrival, while praising Sanders for showing up at Berea to put in some work, reinforces the belief that Gabriel might feel his days in Cleveland are close to an end. Bringing another arm would certainly further jeopardize his standing with the team.

Browns HC Todd Monken notes that Shedeur Sanders has been in the building a bunch the last few months, working out; Dillon Gabriel, as far as he's aware , has not. @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/ZmlKC93tl0
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) March 31, 2026

However, it’s hard to think that any newcomer could catapult themselves over what Sanders accomplished in a short period of time during the second half of last season, or Watson’s pedigree, one that includes three almost forgotten Pro Bowl nods -- unless that newcomer would come in via a surprisingly high draft pick.

Monken already has developed ties to several quarterback prospects available in next month’s draft, and a reunion with at least one of them wouldn’t be out of the question.

Last year, former head coach Kevin Stefanski famously left Sanders out of the first-team snap division until he was forced to name him a starter upon Gabriel’s injury. This time around, he’ll have plenty of work during the offseason, as expectations for him grow higher in his second season with the team.