It's my job to let it play out
In Cleveland, a quarterback room with three competing voices reflects something older than football — the tension between earned trust and inherited expectation. Coach Todd Monken, new to his role, has chosen patience over proclamation, allowing Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel to make their cases through practice rather than pedigree. The 2025 season offered no clean answer, and so the Browns carry their uncertainty forward into the spring, letting time and repetition do what contracts and draft capital could not.
- Cleveland enters 2026 without a named starter, a rare admission of organizational uncertainty at the most important position in the sport.
- Watson, once signed to one of the largest contracts in NFL history, has yet to play a meaningful snap for the Browns — his return to practice reps creates as many questions as it answers.
- Sanders stepped in mid-season last year and started eleven games, giving him a foothold that no amount of offseason positioning can easily erase.
- Monken is installing a new offensive system and has made clear that competition — not seniority or salary — will determine who runs it.
- OTAs in May and mandatory minicamp in June form the evaluation runway, with training camp in July as the final proving ground before the season arrives.
The Cleveland Browns are entering their offseason with no settled answer at quarterback, and first-year coach Todd Monken has made it clear he isn't in a hurry to provide one. Speaking in early May, Monken described the competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders as genuinely open — a room that also includes Dillon Gabriel and a newly drafted sixth-rounder.
Last season told a complicated story. Watson never played, spending the entire year on the physically unable to perform list even after the Browns opened his practice window in December. Sanders took over in Week 12 and started the final eleven games. Gabriel, who had begun the year as the starter, settled into a backup role. The team finished 5-12, leaving no quarterback with a clear claim on the job.
Monken, hired in January, held a voluntary minicamp just before the draft where Watson led most of the practice reps — but the coach was careful to note that Sanders was set to receive more total reps as evaluation continued. Three days of practice, he said, was not enough to name a leader.
General manager Andrew Berry had already set the tone at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, saying there was no urgency to decide and that every quarterback in the room would be expected to compete. Organized team activities begin in mid-May, followed by mandatory minicamp in June and training camp in July — roughly two months of structured evaluation before the regular season.
The public signals have been mixed. A report suggested Watson held an early edge, but Shedeur's brother Shilo pushed back in support of his sibling. Monken's measured language offered no hint of preference. For now, the Browns are letting the spring answer what the 2025 season left unresolved.
The Cleveland Browns are heading into the offseason with an unsettled quarterback situation, and coach Todd Monken is making clear he intends to keep it that way. Speaking to a local radio station in early May, Monken said naming a starter before the team's organized team activities would be premature. The job remains genuinely open, he insisted, between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders—the two most prominent names in a room that also includes Dillon Gabriel and newly drafted sixth-rounder Taylen Green.
Last season told a particular story. Watson, signed to a massive contract before the 2024 campaign, never took the field. He remained on the physically unable to perform list through the entire year, even after the Browns opened his 21-day practice window in December. Meanwhile, Sanders stepped in during Week 12 and proved capable enough that the team handed him the starting role for the final eleven games. Gabriel, who had begun the season as the starter, moved to a backup role and stayed there. The Browns finished 5-12, a record that offered little clarity about which quarterback, if any, had truly earned the job going forward.
Now all three are back, and Monken, hired in January, faces the task of sorting them out. The first-year coach has made it clear he believes in competition—that players should earn their opportunities rather than have them handed down. At a voluntary minicamp held just before the draft in late April, Watson led the rotation in most drills, but Monken noted that Sanders was scheduled to receive more total reps as the evaluation process unfolded. Three days of practice, Monken said, was not enough to declare a leader.
The timeline ahead offers several windows for evaluation. Organized team activities begin in mid-May, followed by a mandatory minicamp in June. Training camp itself doesn't start until July. That's roughly two months of structured evaluation before the regular season arrives. General manager Andrew Berry, speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, had already signaled there was no urgency to decide. "We don't have to make that decision anytime soon," he said, adding that any quarterback in the room would be expected to compete for his role.
But Monken's public commitment to keeping the competition open sits alongside a practical reality: he's installing a new offensive system in Cleveland, and he ultimately expects one quarterback to separate himself from the pack. The question is whether that separation will come through practice performance, through the structure of the offseason program, or through some combination of both. Watson's early lead in reps at the minicamp suggested one trajectory. Sanders' full season of starting experience last year suggested another. Gabriel's presence added a third variable, though his path back to relevance seemed steeper.
The public positioning from those close to the situation has been mixed. A report circulated suggesting Watson held the edge in the competition, but Shilo Sanders, Shedeur's brother, pushed back publicly and expressed support for his sibling's candidacy. Monken's measured language—letting it play out, not rushing to judgment—offered no hint of which way he was leaning. For now, the Browns are content to let May and June answer the question that the 2025 season left unresolved.
Citas Notables
It's my job to let it play out— Coach Todd Monken
We don't have to make that decision anytime soon. I think any player that we have in that room we would expect to compete to earn a role.— General Manager Andrew Berry
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Why does Monken keep saying the competition is open when Watson clearly got more reps at the minicamp?
Because three days of practice isn't a season. Watson led some drills, but Monken explicitly said Sanders was scheduled for more total reps overall. It's a way of saying: we saw something from Watson, but we're not done looking.
But doesn't Watson have the advantage just from being the higher-paid guy?
You'd think so, but the Browns went 5-12 with him sidelined. Sanders actually won games. That's harder to ignore than a contract.
So why not just name Sanders the starter now?
Because Monken is new, he's installing a new system, and he wants to see how Watson looks in it. Also, you don't want to demoralize Watson before he's even played a snap in your offense.
What about Gabriel? Is he actually in this competition?
Technically yes, but realistically he's the third option. He lost the job to Sanders last year. He'd have to have a remarkable offseason to get back in the conversation.
When will we actually know who the starter is?
Not until late June or early July, probably. They have OTAs in May, mandatory minicamp in June, then training camp in July. That's when the real sorting happens.