Todd Monken just affirmed the harsh truth about Browns’ QB situation

Todd Monken just finished his second press conference as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and from a fan’s perspective, he’s already the gift that keeps on giving.

Monken’s approach is about as no-nonsense and straightforward as it gets in the NFL. He’s not one to mince words, and when asked directly about Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson and the Browns’ quarterback situation Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, Monken gave answers with plenty of meat on the bone.

His lightning-rod comment that immediately circulated social media was about the team having an open competition this offseason. “Sure, I think it’s an open competition,” he said. “I don’t know why it wouldn’t be an open competition, and I don’t mean that saying it harshly.”

But he provided plenty of context around that comment, including some potential breadcrumbs toward the question all Browns fans have been yearning to answer: Is a major external free agent, like perceived scheme fit Malik Willis of the Green Bay Packers, really in play for the Browns in March?

Judging by Monken’s comments, that answer seems to be leaning towards a cold, hard no.

True to form, Monken gave a blunt and honest answer when asked if he’d prefer to name a starting quarterback prior to training camp.

“You would hope that that’s the case,” he said. “You would hope that by the time you get to training camp that the reps you’re giving to a quarterback is for your starter. Whether we get to that place? I don’t know. That’ll be determined in the offseason as part of it. That’s another part of the piece.”

The follow-up question was on reports of an open QB competition, which Monken confirmed while potentially leaking a major company secret.

“I don’t think there’s enough on film over the last couple of years one way or the other to say, ‘Boy, we have a starter at quarterback,’ yet, whether internally or externally. … I wouldn’t say it’s important to (add an external quarterback). But we’re going to do our due diligence to make sure that we put ourselves in the best position we can to score points, which starts with that position.”

Todd Monken confirmed what Browns fans feared about open QB competition

The phrasing of Monken’s response is impossible to ignore. We don’t have a clear starter at quarterback yet, he said, "whether internally or externally.”

In other words, Monken hasn’t yet fallen in love with a quarterback candidate, whether it be on his current roster, in this year’s free agent class, or in the group that’ll be available in the 2026 draft.

Those words speak volumes for a potential free agent target like Willis, who per FOX Sports insider Jordan Schultz, is expected to fetch $30-plus million per year on the open market, similar to Sam Darnold last offseason. The stylistic comparisons between Willis and Lamar Jackson, Monken’s most recent QB as offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, have been made by prominent analysts like Ben Solak of ESPN, but Monken doesn’t seem to wholeheartedly agree.

That brings us back to the current group — Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dillon Gabriel. Like general manager Andrew Berry on Tuesday, Monken refused to rule out Watson, and actually made it clear that he’ll get a chance to show what he can do on the grass this offseason. Monken clearly likes Sanders, but admitted to reporters on Wednesday that he still has ground to make up as a second-year player whose reps were limited early in 2025.

Browns fans definitely won’t be excited about a Sanders vs. Watson training camp showdown for the QB1 job. But now just a couple weeks out from the start of the new league year, that appears to be the direction the team is heading, with maybe a late-round draft flyer added to the mix.

Unlike the past six years with Kevin Stefanski, fans should definitely be taking Monken’s words at face value.