The Biggest Decision Browns Coach Todd Monken Must Make This Week

The Cleveland Browns begin their pre-season on Saturday, August 15 against the Chicago Bears. This will be Head Coach Todd Monken’s first pre-season game calling all the shots. Fans are awaiting his decision of who will start at quarterback come time of the kickoff.

Both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders have struggled at times in training camp with interceptions. Monken even called them “embarrassing” as far back as the Organized Team Activities (OTAs).

He has used the word “install” for the first two weeks of training camp to ease anxieties for both him and the quarterback. Both quarterbacks will get time to show how they have understood the “install” and can run the offense. The starter for this week’s game will not automatically be granted the regular-season starter position.

Monken must decide preseason playing time

The biggest question that Monken needs to answer this week is how he should divide up playing time. The Browns are loaded with first and second year players that could use the reps. The coaching staff is brand new and the Browns have an entirely new offensive line.

The Browns also have a litany of injuries to consider as well. The young players should be on the field gaining experience with the coaching staff, but some may have to sit out. It is only fair to evaluate the quarterbacks with similar talent on the offensive line, but risking another injury taking extra snaps in a meaningless game could be a mistake.

In addition to the line, does running back Quinshon Judkins play after coming off of a season-ending surgery? Judkins missed the pre-season and first week of the season last year and still had a solid season as a rookie running back. Do the new wide receivers get a lot of playing time to get comfort in the system and help to accurately assess the quarterbacks? First-round pick KC Concepcion suffered a minor shoulder injury in practice last week and the Browns recently waived Jamari Thrash with an injury designation.

Former coach Kevin Stefanski was conservative with his pre-season games. Monken seems more like an old-school head coach and would rather his players play in the games if they can. While the pre-season games are fun to watch for the feel-good stories of the end-roster-guys, they are ultimately meaningless. The Browns have gone 4-0 in the pre-season and then 0-16 in that same regular season.

On Saturday Monken’s biggest decision will be which guys play in the pre-season game and for how long against the risk of an injury. There are a lot of young players with a new system that need to be carefully evaluated and Monken needs to decide how that will be done in the first pre-season game.

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