The Cleveland Browns may not be ready to put a deadline on their quarterback competition.
Shedeur Sanders’ late push during organized team activities has complicated the decision ahead of minicamp. His improved command of the offense and more efficient play have given head coach Todd Monken reason to keep the competition open.
“While it appeared for much of the offseason program that Deshaun Watson had the edge over Sanders based on his superior athleticism and experience, Sanders seemed to have narrowed the gap the past couple of weeks with his grasp of the playbook and increased efficiency in practice,” Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com said. “By the final week of OTAs, coach Todd Monken had hedged on having his quarterback depth chart set coming out of minicamp, and might hold off on naming or even determining his QB1 unit sometime during training camp.”
Monken had previously said he’d like to enter training camp with a quarterback depth chart established, although he also acknowledged that might not be realistic.
“You would hope that by the time you get to training camp that the reps that you’re giving to a quarterback is for your starter,” Monken said in February. “Whether we get to that place, I don’t know. That’ll be determined in the offseason as part of it.”
Shedeur Sanders Showed Upside During Rookie Season
Sanders entered his rookie season with limited expectations after the Browns selected him in the fifth round with pick No. 144 overall. He eventually received an opportunity to start and finished the season with 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The overall numbers were uneven, but Sanders showed enough flashes to remain part of Cleveland’s plans.
His best performance came in a 364-yard outing in which he threw three touchdown passes and added another score on the ground.
Monken has acknowledged Sanders’ development since taking over in Cleveland. That progress has continued during the offseason program. Monken recently said the Browns have “two starting-level quarterbacks,” referring to Sanders and Watson.
“I got a ton of respect for Shedeur because all he’s done since I’ve been here is work. That’s all he’s done is compete. He was here early in the offseason,” Monken said. “So, it’s been great.”
Deshaun Watson Still Has Chance to Win Browns’ Job
Watson remains firmly in the competition, giving Monken an experienced option to lead a young offense through the transition to a new system. However, naming Watson the starter would do little to resolve Cleveland’s long-term uncertainty at quarterback.
Watson has not provided the consistent production the Browns expected when they acquired him in a blockbuster trade. He has gone 9-10 as Cleveland’s starter, completing 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 19 games.
Sanders is younger, still developing and playing on an inexpensive fifth-round rookie contract. Giving him an extended opportunity would allow the Browns to determine whether his offseason growth can translate into sustained success.
If Sanders fails to establish himself as the long-term answer, Cleveland would enter next year’s draft armed with two first-round picks and the flexibility to make an aggressive move for a quarterback.
Shedeur Sanders Giving Browns Pause on QB1 Timeline