Todd Monken is full steam ahead in his role as the Cleveland Browns head coach, and he has quickly learned that part of the job is answering a lot of questions about the team’s quarterback position. Since Monken is a very direct person, his responses to those questions have revealed a lot about Cleveland’s quarterback room.
Because of the head coach’s media availability at the NFL’s annual league meetings, Browns fans now know that Shedeur Sanders has spent a ton of time this offseason at the team’s facility; Dillon Gabriel hasn’t been around, and Monken hasn’t watched much of Deshaun Watson’s previous tape. Considering that Cleveland is expected to have an open quarterback competition with the three, the offensive-minded head coach not watching Watson’s tape is interesting.
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi followed up with Monken to ask why that was the case, and the head coach’s answer painted the perfect picture of Watson’s standing in Cleveland.
Monken started his explanation by saying that he’s watched a little bit of the veteran quarterback’s tape, but hasn’t really done a deep dive. He went on to say that he has seen Watson play both well and poorly, before emphasizing that there are too many factors that he’s unaware of to draw any major conclusions from previous tape.
At the AFC coaches breakfast yesterday, Todd Monken said he hasn’t watched much past film of Deshaun Watson.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) April 1, 2026
Later on, I followed up and asked why Monken wouldn’t watch prior film as he decides to divide QB reps this spring. This is what Monken had to say. pic.twitter.com/O3CXX4mogh
Todd Monken isn’t putting much stock into Deshaun Watson’s previous play
The Browns head coach wrapped up his comments by saying, “I just know what I've seen over the years. I've seen a really good football player. And we're hoping to be able to tap into that. I know he's excited and we're excited to work with him.” In other words, Watson has shown good and bad, so Monken will give him a true fresh start to show the current version of himself, while the head coach tries to suppress any preconceived notions.
On the surface, it’s somewhat of a wild comment by Monken, because it comes across as him saying he’s essentially going to ignore Watson’s bad tape, so that he actually has a fair chance in this new era of Browns football. However, that’s essentially the message Cleveland has been sending by keeping Watson on the roster.
Monken doesn’t have to do a deep dive on Watson’s film to know that things have been ugly for the quarterback in Cleveland, and his tape doesn’t really matter since it was so long ago. Watson hasn’t played since October of 2024, and he ruptured his Achilles twice since then. The current version of Watson can’t be found on film.
He will be discovered on a practice field in Berea this offseason, though, and Todd Monken will decide if he's a quarterback who should be starting in the league or sitting on the bench.