The Cleveland Browns have a lot of work to do now that they finally settled on a coach, luring former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken away from a division rival to succeed Kevin Stefanski. Now that the coaching situation is sorted out, the focus can now shift toward the roster, where there are plenty of question marks that need to be answered this offseason.
One of the biggest questions remains at quarterback, where the team’s salary cap situation leads many to believe that the team won’t be making any changes to the QB room in 2026. Deshaun Watson and his $80 million cap hit are still on the roster, and rookie Shedeur Sanders will likely be the favorite to start after starting the team’s final seven games in 2025.
According to star cornerback Denzel Ward during a recent appearance on Up & Adams, he and the team sound as if they’re fully behind the young quarterback. He told Kay Adams that he loves Sanders’ confidence and that he’ll be a good player in this league.
“He’s definitely in a good position to get that starting spot if he wants to go get it. He has all the confidence in the world; you love that in a quarterback. I definitely picked him off a few times in practice, but you gotta love his confidence. He’s going to be a good player in this league.”
Browns CB Denzel Ward on what it's like to play Shedeur Sanders in practice:
"I definitely picked him off a few times in practice, but you gotta love his confidence… He's going to be a good player in this league."@denzelward | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/l7B9TedYD7
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 5, 2026
Sanders showed lots of promise down the stretch, though he also showed a handful of the red flags that knocked him down to the fifth round of the 2025 draft. He threw ten interceptions and held the ball too long plenty of times, and if he’s going to be the starter in 2026 and beyond, he is going to need a lot of help from the front office when it comes to fixing the major holes in this offense.
Cleveland is losing four starters on the offensive line, and the only remaining one is Dawand Jones, who can’t stay healthy. The Browns also had one of the league’s worst receiving units, and with a pair of first-round picks, most would love to see the team bring in a huge prospect at left tackle and an explosive weapon at WR to help out Sanders, or whoever else is going to be under center.
Monken stopped short of naming Sanders the 2026 starter, which is likely the right move. He has shown promise, but some competition will do him good.
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