Shedeur Sanders remains in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition, but some believe his time with the franchise could be nearing an end based on recent on-field decisions.
ESPN Cleveland’s Aaron Goldhammer raised the possibility of the Browns trading Sanders after Deshaun Watson unexpectedly received all of the first-team work during Saturday’s practice.
“I think what is happening here is that Todd Monken does not trust Shedeur Sanders to consistently get the team in and out of the huddle on a regular basis. That’s why he’s playing a guy who is a pariah in the town in which he is employed. That is an indictment of Shedeur Sanders,” Goldhammer said. “How many times does Andrew Berry trade a quarterback when we go through training camp? It happens every year. I think we’re approaching the end of the Shedeur Sanders era in Cleveland.”
Goldhammer believes Watson will win the starting job and questioned whether the Browns view Sanders as a fit behind him on the depth chart.
“I think there’s a real chance they’re going to trade Shedeur Sanders. Because I think they’re going to start Watson and because I think that they think that Shedeur is not well-equipped for a variety of reasons to serve as a backup QB,” Goldhammer said.
Todd Monken Explains Change to Browns QB Shift
The Browns initially explained through a team spokesperson that head coach Todd Monken wanted to evaluate specific personnel groupings with Watson.
Monken offered more detail Monday, explaining that Sanders had worked with the starting offense during Saturday’s walk-through. The switch during practice was intended to balance the overall distribution of first-team snaps.
“It really was Shedeur on Saturday took the ones in the walk-through,” Monken said. “So I anticipated him being with the ones. When I walked out, guys grabbed me and said, ‘Hey, the last couple days we’ve been kind of looking at it. Shedeur’s got a few more reps with the ones.’ That’s all it was.”
Monken said the decision was made on the field and was not intended as a declaration that Watson had won the job.
“I wasn’t even at the moment, I was like, ‘Yeah, sure. We’ll flip it and then next week we’ll go the other way,’” Monken said. “I sure as hell wasn’t thinking about coming back in here and telling all you guys that I was going to do it.”
Shedeur Sanders Remains Alive in Browns QB Competition
Despite the growing speculation, Monken reiterated Monday that the Browns have not selected their starting quarterback.
“As long as we’re still sharing reps, it’s a competition,” Monken said.
Sanders was scheduled to return to the first-team offense during Monday’s session, with Watson expected to work with the starters Tuesday. Sanders is then slated to receive the top reps Wednesday when the Browns practice in pads.
“It would not make any sense,” Monken said of ending the competition without an announcement. “I promise you, I’ll tell you. When I know what we’re going to be doing, you’ll know.”
Monken also has not decided whether Watson or Sanders will start Cleveland’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Saturday. He wants the starters to play at least one series, providing the first game evaluation of the competition.
The current plan remains for Watson and Sanders to each start one of the Browns’ first two preseason games. Cleveland also has a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills before its second exhibition matchup.
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Hit With Ominous Warning