Todd Monken Details What Shedeur Sanders Need To Work on After Browns Minicamp

After closing out their three-day mandatory minicamp on Thursday, the Cleveland Browns won’t reconvene until training camp starts in late July.

The team’s ongoing quarterback competition is set to resume until then, as well.

So far, none of the two quarterbacks involved has done enough to separate from their teammate, according to head coach Todd Monken. However, Shedeur Sanders -- who last year went from a fifth-round choice to starting the team’s last seven games to an unexpected Pro Bowl nod -- already has some homework to get busy on, before he hits the practice fields at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea once again.

“I think he’s being more decisive,” noted Monken on Thursday, when asked about Sanders. “Now, it’s easy to say we’re not in pads. It just feels like he’s making quicker decisions, the ball is coming out of hands, which he’s gonna have to do. Not because of playmaking ability, which he does. His ability to process quicker and get the ball out of his hands, and eliminate lost-yards plays, it's gonna be huge for us to be able to stack plays and score, which is ultimately the number one thing to do.”

#Browns Todd Monken, fighting through a lost voice, says the key for Shedeur Sanders is to “process quicker, get the ball out of his hands and eliminate lost-yardage plays.” The playmaking ability is there and he’s been more decisive. pic.twitter.com/tBoOMGjFsk
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) June 11, 2026

Fittingly, Sanders provided two prime examples during Thursday’s session of what Monken was talking about in terms of needing to process a lot faster, and get rid of the ball in a timely fashion.

In one instance, defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. just stood up and raised one hand during a rep in which Sanders took easily over 5 seconds to decide where he wanted to go with the ball, just for him to throw it directly into Hall’s still hand.

Mike Hall bats down Shedeur Sanders pass. Hall held his arm up and Shedeur threw right into it. #browns pic.twitter.com/natveUnuJs
— Dan Labbe (@dan_labbe) June 11, 2026

On another rep, it took him almost 7 seconds to get the ball from shotgun, pump twice, and roll out to his right before finding rookie Denzel Boston for the catch.

2 finding 12 on the rollout 😮‍💨@ShedeurSanders x @dl_boston5 pic.twitter.com/oqtgKcib7Z
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 11, 2026

Although we don’t know the specifics of each one of those reps nor the intention behind each one, holding onto the ball for too long was Sanders’ biggest problem as a rookie last year. There were so many pass plays left on the field because Sanders either didn’t make a correct read, or he didn’t trust his eyes, or he didn’t trust his arm, leading to bad plays or unnecessary checkdowns.

Where does Shedeur Sanders actually stand in the Browns’ quarterback competition?

Sanders probably doesn’t know how lucky he is to be in his current situation, vying for a starting role spot against some extremely flawed competition.

To be fair, we’re not minimizing anything Sanders has done so far in Cleveland. He’s been a consummate pro when dealing with the press 99 percent of the time, he’s won over the locker room, and you can objectively see progress in his game, even at this point of the offseason, from where he was last year.

But Dillon Gabriel has been nothing but an afterthought a year after getting picked up in the third round, and Watson has been looking like, well, a guy who hasn’t played consistently good football in over five years.

The truth is Watson should have been performing head and shoulders above Sanders during OTAs and minicamp, just based off years and years of experience in those controlled settings and knowing exactly what to expect in every single situation.

Monken's frustration is evident.

"As much as I’d love to make that decision, either by someone separating themselves upward or downward, either way, which has not occurred, and we haven’t even gotten to practicing against an opponent, putting the pads on, having a controlled scrimmage or playing preseason games," stated Monken on Wednesday.

Perhaps Watson not being able to distance himself "upward" from Sanders is actually him separating "downward."

Sure, Sanders isn't there yet, either. Monken was very clear on what he needs to see from the second-year passer. But, at the very least, it doesn't seem like we're anywhere close to finding out what his ceiling is just yet.

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