Todd Monken deserves a good deal of credit for not letting outside forces get to him in the midst of the Cleveland Browns’ ongoing quarterback competition. Naming a starter by now would have been the easier path by far, especially for a first-time NFL head coach, but Monken has left the starting job open heading into the second preseason game.
Skeptics may say that is because there is not a good choice to be made, but the reporters who have been on the scene throughout spring workouts and training camp have maintained that the battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders remains close. Monken obviously believes that as well, based on his comments about each of the participants.
With that in mind, analyst Nathan Segura has shut down the growing narrative that the Browns’ QB competition is already over and Watson is the winner.
“I certainly do not think it’s over. This quarterback race is open. I think that [Todd] likes both of them. I think that it is still up in the air, but at the same time, I think that there are certain things that Deshaun Watson is doing better than Shedeur Sanders, and I think that that gives Todd Monken some comfort. We’ll just have to see how it plays out with these two. They’ve both come a long way since they got here with Todd Monken,” Zegura said.
"I certainly do not think it's over. I think that it is still up in the air, but at the same time, I think that there are certain things that Deshaun Watson is going better than Shedeur Sanders and I think that that gives Todd Monken comfort…"
➡️ @NathanZegura w/ @KenCarman… https://t.co/MR3dGEcvLv pic.twitter.com/oxQZlYnmkv
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) August 21, 2026
The thought that Sanders no longer has a chance has been partly influenced by the fact that even though he will start on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, he is unlikely to play with much of the first-team offense. That is countered by the fact that Watson is set to play the third quarter with even deeper backups.
Neither did anything to eliminate themselves from the competition during a joint practice with the Bills on Thursday. Watson did throw the only interception of the two, which has been an issue for him during training camp, but they each made their fair share of positive plays in a somewhat surprising performance by the offense against the Buffalo defense.
From the moment he was hired, Monken declared that there would be an open competition for QB1, even though Sanders started the final seven games of his rookie season last year and Watson hadn’t played in a game since October 2024. While the coach was likely hoping someone would take over the competition, he is willing to be patient as he tries to make the best decision for Week 1.
Of course, whatever call he makes is not permanent or binding, so Browns fans can expect both Watson and Sanders to get playing time this season.
NEXT: Todd Monken Reveals When Browns Will Likely Make QB Decision
