The Cleveland Browns will enter the final stretch of training camp and the preseason with a major quarterback decision looming, as the starting job has still not been decided between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. But with all the focus on those two, the team has not had much time or ability to evaluate what might be the most interesting prospect on their roster–sixth-round pick Taylen Green, the 6-foot-6 quarterback from Arkansas who still manages to have 4.39-second speed in the 40-yard dash.
Green has been easy to overlook, because of the focus on the flip-flopping of reps between the two starting candidates, with third QB Dillon Gabriel also getting reps with the second team. Green has been putting in his own work, but it’s just not been central to what the Browns have been trying to accomplish at quarterback.
That could change this weekend as the Browns face the Bills in their second preseason game, though it is not in the plans going in. It will certainly change in the third game next week against New England, though.
Browns ‘Happy We Got’ Taylen Green
One thing that remains clear is that Browns coach Todd Monken still really likes Green’s possibilities.
Said Monken when asked about Taylen Green: “First of all, he’s so damn smart. That dude is smart as heck to go out there and function, we hardly give him any reps. I love that dude. It’s just hard. We have four guys, it’s hard to give them all reps. We got him on the perimeter one time, which is what you’ve got to do down there in the red zone, but all he does is work, always has a smile on his face. I’m happy we got him.
“But it’s hard to fit him in with the reps and rep count we have.”
Taylen Green Predicted to Be Starting Candidate
That does leave open the question of what happens to Green once camp is over. Monken knows there will be a roster crunch and hinted that carrying four quarterbacks–assuming they do not trade Gabriel–would be difficult. But his enthusiasm for Green seems to indicate he will have a roster spot, in some fashion.
Remember, ESPN this week made the strong prediction that not only will Green play this year, but he will start by the end of the season and compete for the job in 2027.
The network’s Seth Walder predicted: “Cleveland’s 2027 quarterback competition will be between a first-round pick and … Taylen Green. This essentially is a bet that Green will be starting for the Browns by the end of 2026. ”
Browns Quarterback Competition Still Open
As for the state of the Browns’ current quarterback race, Monken was not giving any signs of which way he is leaning. The consensus is that Watson is ahead of Sanders now, but Sanders will get a whole half against Buffalo to pull ahead.
In the joint practice with the Bills, there were clear mistakes. But Monken professed to feel good about the offense.
From Monken: “It was fine. Do I like to turn it over in the red zone? No. Do I like to miss an open touchdown? No. But we got a lot of good work against someone different, different looks, so that was really good. I’ll have to watch the film. The one thing I would say, maybe it was just me, it didn’t look like we were out of place. It looked like we belong. That’s all we wanted to see: do we belong? Does our first eleven give us a chance to move the ball and score? I felt that way today.”
Browns’ Todd Monken Professes Love for ‘Damn Smart’ Rookie