Everyone in the NFL world is curious to know who will be the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. The curiosity is so intense that many people ran with a narrative that Deshaun Watson had the upper hand over Shedeur Sanders, and that it was essentially his job to lose.
Everyone from the Browns resisted that characterization of the battle, including first-year head coach Todd Monken, who will ultimately decide the starter. Of course Monken will likely hold his cards close to his chest, but considering his directness and honesty, it was hard to chalk up all his comments to just coach speak.
On Wednesday, though, Monken took his honesty to another level, peeling back the curtain to his mind and revealing how he’s evaluating the battle right now. The head coach admitted that he’s still having trouble identifying a clear leader in the competition, saying every day he leans one way or the other.
The pendulum keeps swinging back and forth because as Monken puts it, Cleveland has two starting-level quarterbacks.
#Browns HC Todd Monken said he has not yet decided who will start at quarterback between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, nor has he finalized the offensive line heading into training camp.
— Ashly Holder (@AshNoelleTV) June 3, 2026
"I think both quarterbacks have played well enough. We really haven't been in pads,… pic.twitter.com/LFLUlv99mL
Todd Monken says Browns have two starting-level quarterbacks as battle remains undecided
Monken also explained that Watson and Sanders have been alternating reps with the starting unit pretty evenly, though it may not seem that way to the media since they have only been allowed at one practice a week. In the previous open practices, Watson was the quarterback taking the majority of the first-team reps, but on Wednesday, Sanders was up in the rotation.
The fact that Cleveland is still giving both guys equal opportunity to win the job could be a sign that things are actually as close as Monken says they are. The head coach had previously said he wanted to enter training camp with a depth chart, but he isn’t confident that will happen at the quarterback position.
That means the battle could carry on deep into training camp and the preseason. While that would be negative in the sense that the eventual starter will have fewer reps with the starting unit, it would help Monken make a more sound decision as he would be able to evaluate the quarterbacks in a setting closer to real football, as opposed to the spring period where everyone is only wearing shorts and a helmet.
Once the pads are on, and the competition level turns up, one of the quarterbacks may really be able to separate themselves.
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