Browns QB competition: Todd Monken addresses decision between Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson

Earlier this week, Cleveland.com‘s Mary Kay Cabot reported that Deshaun Watson emerged as the favorite to win the Browns’ starting quarterback spot over Shedeur Sanders. Cabot also noted Browns head coach Todd Monken hopes to name a QB1 by the end of Browns minicamp, June 9-11.

The Browns hired Monken this offseason after firing head coach Kevin Stefanski. On Friday, Monken addressed the rumors swirling around his quarterback unit.

“I would love to have that. I’m not there yet,” Monken said when asked if he’d like to have a starting quarterback decided before training camp. “So I can’t say that. We’ve been on the field three practices, which was awesome to get out there with our players.”

Watson easily boasts the most experience in the Browns’ QB room. However, he didn’t play last season after undergoing surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon.

Watson has only played in 19 games since joining the Browns in 2022. Not only has he battled injuries, but legal issues as well. The NFL suspended Watson for 11 games in 2022 after numerous women accused him of sexual misconduct.

With Watson unavailable last season, the Browns started veteran QB Joe Flacco in Week 1. After the Browns traded Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, Dillon Gabriel was named the Browns’ QB1.

Gabriel posted a 1-5 record as the Browns’ starter and Sanders was then promoted to starter. The Browns went 3-4 with Sanders starting behind center.

Sanders completed 56.6% of his pass attempts for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns, while throwing 10 interceptions. Todd Monken emphasized he hasn’t chosen a starting quarterback yet.

“It’s always changing based on what you see. I don’t have a history with any of our players,” Monken said. “I know where this is heading, but I don’t have a history with any of our players. They’re all external to me, just like when I interviewed coaches for the coordinator position. There were no internal candidates. I wasn’t here. They’re all external to me. So all the players are external, other than Tylan Wallace. The point is what I’ve seen after three days, OK, that gives us a little bit of a 40,000-foot view of where we’re at. But that can change.

“Once we get back on the field for four weeks at the end of this spring, we’ll have a better idea then. But there’s only so many reps you get. You’ve got to start to target towards who is gonna start opening day. Now, that can still change. That can change, even if someone’s getting two-thirds of the reps or someone’s getting a third of the reps because you’re still gonna play preseason games, you’re still gonna wanna see those guys at quarterback and see how they play.”