Todd Monken Shuts Down Any Hope of Browns' QB Change in the Future

For the very first time since taking over the team back in late January, head coach Todd Monken doesn’t need to answer who the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns will be -- at least for the next few days.

Deshaun Watson enjoyed his finest game in years, completing 24 of 30 pass attempts for 238 yards and two touchdowns with no picks while leading Cleveland to its first win of the regular season, an away matchup against former Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.

Watson’s unexpected performance led to rave reviews across the board, especially from the man who has stood by him stoically through his short but eventful tenure as the Browns’ head coach.

"I'm happy for Deshaun, the way he's played, and I expected improvement, and I expect continued improvement. There's a lot of football left in him; he just hasn't played in a while.

#Browns HC Todd Monken asked about wanting consistency at QB, speaks about Deshaun Watson:

"I'm happy for Deshaun, the way he's played, and I expected improvement, and I expect continued improvement. There's a lot of football left in him; he just hasn't played in a while." pic.twitter.com/D6EtCt1kku
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) September 21, 2026

Monken was especially outspoken on Watson’s improvement in two key areas that were concerning during Week 1’s loss in Jacksonville -- the quarterback's seemingly sloppy dropbacks and his apparent struggles when processing his reads. Watson managed to lower his sack total from five to two in the Tampa Bay game.

In the process, Monken made an unusual confession regarding the way he views Watson.

“Learning our system, trying to get him consistent with his drops and his reads is part of the process. He’s like every player.

“I see him as a young player. I know people don’t want to see it that way and I haven’t been here. But I see him as still a very young player that is going to continue to grow.”

What’s next for Deshuan Watson as the Browns’ starting quarterback?

Monken is not naive enough to believe that Watson will operate as cleanly week in and week out as he did against the Buccaneers, though there’s nothing he’d want more, as he sarcastically stated on Monday how much he loves getting asked over and over again about the quarterback position.

Yet, Watson will probably be facing his toughest challenge of the regular season in Week 3, and it won’t come from the opposing team.

Watson will start a game in Cleveland for the first time since the October 2024 game in which he originally tore his Achilles, leading to almost two full years of inactivity.

And if the preseason is any indication of what’s to come, Watson should expect to be booed.

The last time Watson played in front of the home crowd was a third quarter appearance in Week 2 of the preseason against Buffalo, which then led to the quarterback suffering a meltdown in the post-game press conference, calling those boos “personal” and stating that it has nothing to do about the performance,” despite Sunday’s win in Tampa Bay being just his 10th in Cleveland after four-plus seasons with the team.

Watson might have bought some grace -- and time -- with a victory over the Bucs, with reports circulating before the tilt that the team might have been readying a change at the quarterback position for Week 3 if things didn’t improve substantially.

However, Watson can’t make the mistake of thinking that all is forgiven or forgotten.

Browns’ fans will need more than just one game in September to embrace the idea of handing him yet another chance at redemption.

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