Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken has not yet named a starting quarterback, leaving Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders to compete for the role during training camp.
Jared Verse Endorses Competition Between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders
Training Camp Battle: Watson and Sanders
As the Cleveland Browns prepare for their first training camp under head coach Todd Monken, the starting quarterback position remains the primary focus. The team enters the season in a period of transition, having recently traded away two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. While Watson brings more NFL experience to the roster, he is returning from a 2025 season lost to a torn Achilles tendon. Sanders, entering his second year, showed promise as a rookie, earning a Pro Bowl selection as an alternate after playing in eight games with seven starts, throwing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
The competition has garnered attention from across the roster. Browns defensive end Jared Verse recently expressed optimism about the dynamic between the two signal-callers during an appearance on Good Morning Football on Wednesday.
“These are two great quarterbacks,” Verse said. “I’m honestly excited to see how it goes further in the preseason, but so far I’ve just seen two elite quarterbacks battling it out.”
Albert Breer Warns of Locker Room Friction During Quarterback Competition
Concerns Over Team Unity and Scheduling
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Despite the competitive spirit, some observers worry that the lack of a clear starter could create friction among skill-position players. During a recent appearance on 92.3 The Fan, NFL insider Albert Breer warned that if the quarterbacks hold separate, competing offseason workouts, it could force receivers, running backs, and tight ends to choose which quarterback to follow, creating unnecessary drama for a team already navigating a transition.
“I would say if you have two quarterbacks with competing camps and the receivers and the running backs and the tight ends have to pick which to go to, you have bigger problems than scheduling,” Breer said. “If that’s allowed to happen, and like you’ve got drama over that, that’s probably not great.”
For more on this story, see Deion Sanders: Shedeur Needs Team Support to Succeed.
Breer added that in such a scenario, the expectation is for the veteran player to provide leadership. “So I think in a case like this, if one quarterback is going to put it together, then you would hope that he would let the other quarterbacks know what the plan was and invite them to be part of it. I think, generally, it would be the most veteran guy. The presumed starter would obviously be the preference, and when there isn’t one, I would think it would be the older guy. A lot of these guys do this sort of thing.”
Todd Monken Implements New Offensive Scheme for Browns Roster
The Path to the Starting Role
The coaching staff’s evaluation process is ongoing. Observations from early in the offseason program highlighted differences in how the quarterbacks approached fundamental drills. During a basic drill involving catching a snap, faking a pitch, dropping into position, and throwing, Watson performed crisply and cleanly. Conversely, Sanders’ approach was described as lackadaisical, particularly regarding the fake pitch. While Sanders is viewed as a “gamer” who performs when it counts, he has yet to fully embrace the process of checking various boxes in practice.
Monken, in his first spring as an NFL head coach and play-caller, has been tasked with applying the offensive concepts he utilized as offensive coordinator in Baltimore to the current Browns roster. Because he could not bring Lamar Jackson with him, the spring was used primarily for installation and a first run-through of the new system. The team is also working with an entirely new offensive line, which saw rookies playing with the second and third units during the spring.
Early in the offseason, indications were that Watson had emerged as the leader for the QB1 role, though Sanders appeared to make progress near the end of the program. The team’s first full training camp practice is set for July 29, serving as a critical checkpoint for the competition as the Browns move toward the regular season.
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