Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken pushed back a bit on a report by NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe that the team is planning to give each of its top two quarterbacks, Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, one preseason game start before declaring a Week 1 starter. If anything, that's a tentative plan, Monken said, that is subject to change.
Either way, the Browns will have to choose a starter for this week’s preseason opener at Chicago on Aug. 15 — and Monken may have finally tipped his hand during practice No. 10 of training camp.
With the install phase of Monken’s first camp now complete, the Browns broke a key pattern in terms of first-team reps during Saturday’s practice. Watson and Sanders had been alternating days running the first- and second-team offenses, but on Sanders’ scheduled day to be back up with the ones, it was Watson who took the first reps in competitive 11-on-11 drills.
“Through the first two portions of team drills, Deshaun Watson has taken all the reps with the 1s,” ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi reported during practice, adding minutes later. “The Browns just began another set of team drills and Watson is out there with the 1s. Todd Monken said before practice that Sanders would get a majority of the No. 1 reps today.”
By the time Sanders took his first reps in team drills, he was leading the second unit. It could mean absolutely nothing — or it could signal a clear shift in the competition as the team potentially prepares to get Watson and the starting offense ready for the preseason opener that's just a week away.
Todd Monken said one thing, then did another with Shedeur Sanders on Day 10 of training camp
For the many Browns fans hoping they’ve already seen the last snap of the Deshaun Watson era in Cleveland, it's still too early to panic. For context, this was the team’s longest practice of camp so far, scheduled for two hours. And based on how the alternating days have gone, Watson has been behind Sanders in terms of first-team reps in fully-padded practices. It’s possible that Monken simply wanted to even things out a bit more to have more accurate film for the coaching staff to study during Sunday’s off day.
What’s concerning is that Monken has been meeting with the media prior to each practice session, and he told reporters Saturday that it was Sanders’ day with the ones and he would get the "majority" of the first-team reps. He said Watson might mix in with the ones during 7-on-7 periods. Otherwise, the coach confirmed that this was Sanders' day with the ones.
The fact that this practice then turned into a full-blown Watson day in both 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods is now the overarching question that likely won’t get answered until after the weekend. Monken isn’t scheduled to speak with reporters again until 12:50 p.m. EST on Monday.
Here was the latest update from Browns reporter Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal:
#Browns team spokesman said the reason why Deshaun Watson took all of the No. 1 reps today in practice despite Todd Monken saying beforehand that Shedeur Sanders was going to was because "There were personnel groupings (Monken) wanted to see Deshaun with." https://t.co/jLxfSL1UFQ
— Chris Easterling (@ceasterlingABJ) August 8, 2026
This certainly raises the possibility that Watson will be up first for the preseason opener at Chicago. It would actually make sense for Watson to get the road game, as he would almost certainly be booed loudly when the team hosts Buffalo in Week 2 of the preseason on Aug. 22.
If Sanders gets the second preseason game at home, along with an uptick in first-team reps during that week of preparation — including the joint practice with the Bills — this whole thing could end up being a non-story.
But if Watson ends up being named Cleveland’s Week 1 starter for the regular season? This long, padded, Saturday practice on Aug. 8 can be circled as the clear turning point in a competition that didn't seem to have a clear frontrunner after nine practices.
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