By virtue of Todd Monken’s first year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, the majority of the team was on the field for Day 1 of what will be a three-day voluntary minicamp for veteran players ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Local reporters were on hand in Berea providing live updates of Monken’s first organized team workout, with Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dillon Gabriel (in that order) leading the team through 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. The calendar hasn’t even flipped to May, but it’s fair to call Tuesday the official start of the Monken era in Cleveland.
But as expected, not every veteran player was in attendance.
The most notable non-injury-related absences for the Browns were Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, and Jerry Jeudy. With all due respect to that group of established NFL vets with six-plus years of service time, one of those three names is not like the others.
Todd Monken said he was informed ahead of time about vets such as Myles Garrett, Jerry Jeudy and Denzel Ward not being in attendance for voluntary veteran minicamp.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) April 21, 2026
Monken reiterated that he would love for everyone to be in attendance but these practices are voluntary and he’s…
Jerry Jeudy’s Browns role may not be as secure as this decision suggests
Monken seemed to squash some of the Jeudy trade speculation earlier this month in a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Kevin Clark, but there’s no stopping the floodgates from reopening. The Browns are expected to add at least one wide receiver in the draft, potentially with one of their two first-round picks, and Jeudy’s decision to skip his new head coach’s first on-field workout seems curious at best.
It’s certainly bold for Jeudy to skip voluntary workouts coming off his disappointing 2025 season. He never developed a strong rapport with Sanders on the field, and drops helped lead to one of the least productive seasons of his six-year NFL career. His 12.0 yards-per-reception average was a career-low.
Jeudy definitely shouldn't be overly comfortable this offseason. He’s entering the final season of the three-year, $52.5 million extension he signed with the team back in 2024, and the team could clear close to $4 million in 2026 salary cap space by trading him on or after June 1, per Over the Cap.
As it stands, Jeudy remains the clear-cut No. 1 receiver on the Browns depth chart, but he’ll likely sink to the No. 3 or 4 option in the passing game at the conclusion of this week’s draft. Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. led the Browns in just about every major receiving category in 2025, and Jeudy could take a back seat to another rookie this summer, assuming the team adds one of the eight known wide receivers it hosted on pre-draft 30 visits. All eight of those prospects are expected to be selected inside the top 40 picks, and the Browns currently hold pick Nos. 6, 24, and 39 overall.
Monken acknowledged Tuesday that these workouts are 100 percent voluntary, but he would love for every player to be on the field. Fans would love to see the team’s top locker room leaders show up and get behind the new head coach, including Garrett and Ward, but both are franchise players at their respective positions and their absences are understandable.
Jeudy? Unless there’s some type of valid excuse that has yet to be reported, the team's top receiver skipping the first on-field throwing session for Sanders and Watson is a brutal look.
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