Todd Monken Gives Troubling Update on Browns’ Quarterback Competition

The Browns kicked off their mandatory three-day minicamp on Tuesday, with Shedeur Sanders getting 11-on-11 work with the starters.

Jun 9, 2026; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterbacks Deshaun Watson (4) and Shedeur Sanders (2) throw the ball during mandatory mini camp at Cross Country Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns’ three-day mandatory minicamp is underway at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, with all eyes glued on the quarterbacks.

However, head coach Todd Monken revealed a tiny bit of information that slams the brakes on any speck of optimism regarding the status of the starting role for the 2026 regular season.

When talking about Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders vying for the starting gig in Cleveland, Monken told reporters “They’ve both played well enough to earn the right to compete to start.”

Wait. So the competition hasn’t even started in earnest yet?

As soon as Monken arrived as the new head coach of the Browns back in late January, he spoke of an open competition to determine Cleveland’s starting quarterback, centered around second-year passer Sanders and veteran Watson, who’s surprisingly getting a second lease on his Browns’ tenure.

Up to now, both quarterbacks have been working extensively with the first team in an alternating fashion. At the start of minicamp on Tuesday, Sanders worked with the starters, with Watson expected to get the first-team reps tomorrow, and have a split workload on Thursday. 

It’s not surprising to learn that Monken isn’t ready to name a starter yet. He already warned of this a few days ago, when a few days ago he admitted, "In a perfect world, you'd love to have your starting quarterback... I'm not sure we'll be there, I'm just not."

What is surprising is that all the work before was seemingly just a qualifier phase, with the real competition still to be determined. 

"Once we get to the fall, we'll have to dissect the reps how we see fit," confirmed Monken on Tuesday.

Browns head coach Todd Monken doesn’t plan on naming a starting QB after minicamp on June 11.

“Once we get to the fall, we’ll dissect the reps as we see fit.” pic.twitter.com/98pSRbkVq7

— Nick Pedone (@NickPedone12) June 9, 2026

So, where does the Browns quarterback competition really stand?

At this point, it seems it might be a while before we know who’ll be starting at quarterback for the Browns in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL regular season.

"I would have hoped [to have a starter], but I like both of them," said Monken from Browns’ minicamp on Tuesday. 

"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. ...

The troubling part is, everything points towards the Browns hitting training camp in late July still undecided on who will get the lion’s share of first team reps. In Sanders’ case particularly -- as a second-year player with less than half a season of starting experience -- every rep he watches from afar for Watson is a wasted chance at getting better.

Even with multiple reports signaling verifiable progress for the Colorado product, the whole situation of having this drawn out competition between Watson and him just seems like an unnecessary obstacle for his development, especially after the team signaled a youth movement by trading Myles Garrett away.

So much for Monken’s “perfect world”. 

"I'm not there yet. That's the reality of it."