Why Todd Monken’s Quarterback Remarks Seem Concerning As Browns Competition Nears End

Browns are inching towards a decision between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.

Jul 30, 2026; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken yells at quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) during training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Looks like the cat’s halfway out of the bag now, with Todd Monken revealing that the Cleveland Browns’ starters might not play alongside Shedeur Sanders when he gets his chance to open a preseason game for the Cleveland Browns this year. 

That basically signals that the competition could be effectively over, with the Browns likely favoring veteran Deshaun Watson over Sanders. It also raises doubts over how the quarterback battle was handled.

But if one preseason game -- a lopsided loss against Chicago by a score of 34-10 -- was truly the tipping point in this race however unlikely it may seem, then one quote made by Monken defending his quarterbacks’ performance in said game becomes deeply concerning now.

”To me, it felt like we are going to be able to throw the football, be effective in that.”

Basically, Monken is saying this:

• The Browns are currently not able to throw the football effectively, but might be in the future.

• There is no guarantee that the Browns will be effective throwing the football, just a feeling. 

Sure, it might be just a poor choice of words, but Monken also stated as part of the same quote that “I was really pleased with our quarterback play. It's not going to feel like that. Turn it over three times. That's never going to be ideal.”

Did the Browns handle their quarterback competition correctly?

As the quarterback battle starts to unravel, with a high likelihood of Sanders’ not being afforded one preseason start with the first team, it’s easy to doubt the whole process. 

After all, every indication is that the Browns’s next starter is a 30-year old quarterback who hasn’t played good football in six years, hasn’t played any football in almost two years, and spent the whole competition more than doubling his counterpart in thrown interceptions while posting an inferior completion percentage. Top that off with the fact that he didn’t throw one single pass for 10 or more air yards during his time leading the Browns’ starters in Week 1 of the preseason during a performance that reads 11 of 15 passing for 126 yards with a lost fumble on a strip sack. 

And for all the gatekeepers out there suggesting that preseason games don’t really matter, keep in mind that 2026 is more than likely the last train for Watson, Sanders and Gabriel to be considered, potentially, as a starting NFL quarterback.

So suggesting that any one of those three would be treating a no score, one turnover preseason performance like “yeah, whatever” doesn’t seem right. 

The truth of the matter is that Cleveland didn’t really have enough talent to make for a good quarterback competition from the beginning. The Browns’ quarterback room is what it is. But once it got going, it did feel like the scales were being tipped to one side. 

Either way, coach Monken has just two more preseason games to show he has an ace up his sleeve which will allow the team to, at some point in time, be effective passing the ball and allow Browns’ fans to be just as pleased with what they see from the quarterbacks as he is.