The Cleveland Browns quarterback battle is the biggest storyline and contest around this team this offseason. It's a competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, with Watson slightly favored.
Despite that, a report regarding the duel shows that Sanders has a real shot of coming out as QB1. That had to be encouraging for the second-year signal-caller, and it appears the wind continues to blow in a positive direction for him.
Following Wednesday's OTA practice, head coach Todd Monken spoke to the media, and he praised Sanders for his growth. Per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Monken expressed that Sanders has "come miles" in terms of his progressions and running the offense from when the offseason began.
Monken then spoke about how the quarterback reps were broken down and stated, "Actually today, Deshaun, when we two spot, we divide up Shedeur and Deshaun. So, when it was two-spotted, we just keep the guys in the same spot. Actually, Shedeur took the first team reps the rest of practice," according to Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.
Oyefusi also added that it was clear the Browns were being intentional in getting Sanders and Watson the most starting reps. And the only reason for that is because of what they see, which really bodes well for Sanders.
Todd Monken's update on Shedeur Sanders was optimistic
Considering that Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed that Monken will start whoever the better quarterback is, the more that Sanders impresses in practice and in the meeting room, it will benefit him down the line.
The Browns will have some OTA practices between May 26-28 and June 2-5, before returning for mandatory minicamp from June 9-11. These practice sessions will be critical for Sanders to continue building steam ahead of training camp in July.
That's when things will turn up a notch, but the fact that Monken is going out of his way to give Sanders praise is noteworthy. Monken also gave Watson some love, pointing out his athleticism despite returning from injuries.
Watson was also the quarterback who threw a touchdown pass to receiver Denzel Boston, who reeled in the score between cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Ronnie Hickman. While that certainly gave Watson some props from the staff and first team, it's obvious this is a true battle.
Sanders needs to continue pressing forward and competing the way he has thus far. It's clearly working and could help him in a couple of months when Cleveland announces QB1. These comments certainly need to be taken with a grain of salt, with it being an OTA practice in May, but it shows Sanders is catching the eye of his new head coach.
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