When Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken spoke with the media on Monday, the expectation was that he would name the team’s starting quarterback for their Week 10 game. With Deshaun Watson out of concussion protocol, fans and media members were ready to hear something along the lines of: Deshaun is our starter and he’ll be back in the lineup now that he’s healthy.
Instead, Monken said that he hadn’t thought about who would start Sunday’s game yet, leaving the door open on the idea that Shedeur Sanders played well enough in Week 9 to unseat Watson. The head coach could have really been undecided, or it could’ve been some gamesmanship, not letting the Houston Texans know which quarterback to prepare for.
There’s also another possibility. Monken may not have known which quarterbacks on the roster were going to survive the trade deadline, so he just didn’t announce a starter to avoid an awkward situation where the franchise looks like it isn’t in accord.
Browns hold on to all four quarterbacks at trade deadline
With the Nov. 10 trade deadline now in the past, any talks about Cleveland moving Watson or Sanders can officially be put to bed for this season. Both quarterbacks are still on the roster, as well as Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green.
However, considering the state of the NFL, Browns general manager Andrew Berry probably didn’t want to rule out the possibility of getting calls about Watson or Sanders. While it would’ve been bizarre to see someone trade for Watson (and almost impossible given the dead money and no-trade clause in his contract), and a bit confusing to see Cleveland move on from Sanders, this is the NFL. Crazy things happen.
If Monken had named a starter on Monday, be it Sanders or Watson, and the Browns were blown away with an offer to immediately trade that starter, it would make the franchise look bad. Whether that was the reasoning behind Monken’s indecisiveness is unclear, but it’s certainly a plausible approach.
Either way, both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are still members of the Cleveland Browns, and the team has to decide which one will be starting in Week 10.
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