The Cleveland Browns appear ready to give Deshaun Watson another start, despite his ugly debut in a blowout loss.
After leaving his options open following a 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Monken offered a clearer answer on his plans under center.
“I anticipate Deshaun being our starter,” Monken said.
That puts Watson on track to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, with Shedeur Sanders still waiting for his opportunity. Monken’s wording leaves him some flexibility, but his assessment of the offense pointed toward giving Watson more time.
“We got to play better around him and we have to call it better. And he’s got to play better. Our inability to function consistently as an offense was a byproduct of ‘we,’ coaching and playing,” Monken said.
Watson finished the opener with 205 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception on 16-of-22 passing. Those numbers offered a more respectable picture than the game itself. Cleveland fell behind 34-3, and Watson’s 46-yard touchdown to rookie Denzel Boston came with the outcome already decided.
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Watson won the starting job over Sanders in training camp, but Monken pointed to how little time he has spent getting all the practice reps since that decision.
“It’s only been two weeks that he’s got all the reps. There are some really good things on the film. Things you can build on. And there were some others that, operationally, we got to get better at,” Monken said.
Monken also pushed back on the idea that Watson played tentatively. He said that when Watson understood the concepts, he delivered the ball decisively.
Even the late touchdown offered something useful for Monken. He acknowledged the circumstances but noted that Jacksonville still had its top cornerback on the field. He credited the communication between Watson and Boston on the scoring play.
“There were a lot of things to build on. It wasn’t perfect. Of course not, or else we wouldn’t have scored as few of points as we did. I’d like to see how we could build on that,” Monken said. “I liked his week of practice last week and I think he’s only going to continue to get better.”
Todd Monken Delivers Blunt Message on Supporting Watson
Monken was considerably firmer when asked about locker room support for Watson.
“They don’t have a choice. This isn’t a debate. I don’t ask them to make the play calls. Their job is to play,” Monken said.
The response does not establish that players have resisted Watson remaining the starter. But it does make clear how Monken expects the team to handle his quarterback decision.
“I don’t blame anyone for having their opinion, but ultimately it’s up to us to support whoever we put out there,” Monken said.
Sanders remains the most obvious alternative if Monken decides the offense needs a change. For now, the coach appears more interested in seeing whether Watson can improve with another full week of preparation.
Cleveland heads to Tampa Bay needing that improvement quickly. If he flounders again, it’s safe to assume the decision to run him out in front of a home crowd for the team’s opener against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 will be a tougher one.
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