Browns Coach Todd Monken’s Latest Comments Could Be Good News for Shedeur Sanders

Could Shedeur Sanders have a leg up with his new head coach? Here's why Monken's comments could be great news for Sanders.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) runs the ball in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. The Browns kicked a last second field goal to win 20-18. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken still doesn’t know who his starting quarterback will be.

While the organization is bracing for a quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders this offseason, there’s been no certainty on who will actually start the season.

At the annual NFL meetings in Arizona on Tuesday, Monken was asked about his quarterbacks, and noted that Sanders has been in his office frequently. Monken saw Watson in the facility right after he was hired, and last year’s third-round pick, Dillon Gabriel, hasn’t been in the building.

Monken ruled out another four man quarterback competition. The 60-year-old head coach said that he tried that during his offensive coordinator days at Georgia, and he wasn’t a fan of that many QBs. It’ll be a “fair competition,” but the snaps will not be evenly split.

Who will be up first, Watson or Sanders?

“It’ll be daily, in terms of who gets what reps and when,” Monken said. “We want to allocate our reps to the players to the players we feel like will give us the best chance to win.” 

Then, Monken stated that the Browns will make decisions based on what they’ve seen in the past and where last year ended.

Last season ended with Sanders defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. Watson remained on the sideline, with his practice window opened, but never actually elevated from the physically unable to perform list.

If Monken is making decisions based on what they’ve seen in the past and how last year ended, Sanders could actually be the quarterback with the leg up in this competition.

Even though Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Andrew Berry alluded to Watson having a “great” opportunity to be Cleveland’s starting quarterback in 2026, he didn’t play last year. Even though his practices might’ve looked impressive, Monken wasn’t in the building to get a look at Watson with his own two eyes.

If winning is what matters most, Sanders proved at the end of last season that he’s capable of quarterbacking the team through consecutive divisional wins, even though those came at the end of a long, painful season. 

The door is open for Watson to have an attempt at a redemption story. But he hasn’t played good football since 2019. That was six years ago. Since then, he’s missed two full seasons, broken his shoulder, and ruptured his Achilles tendon twice.

Even though Sanders took some lumps during his first seven starts in the NFL, the fifth-round rookie was resilient. The fact that Monken shouted out his attentiveness in his office before practices were even allowed to get started proves that the new coach knows that he has a player who is eager to learn.

Monken’s “what we've seen in the past and where the year ended last year” comments also play into the favor of Sanders.