The 2026 regular season is still four-plus months from kicking off, but first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken wants to identity his starting quarterback by the end of the team’s June 9-11 minicamp, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Monken still has several weeks to make his choice, but Deshaun Watson currently has the “edge” over Shedeur Sanders, according to Cabot.
This comes as a surprise after Sanders appeared to be the frontrunner three weeks ago. As a fifth-round pick last year, Sanders finished his rookie season as the Browns’ starter. Despite posting poor numbers, Sanders earned a Pro Bowl invite as an alternate. Meanwhile, Watson has not taken the field since he ruptured his Achilles on Oct. 20, 2024. The three-time Pro Bowler ruptured it again in January 2025, forcing him to miss all of last season.
The Browns made perhaps the worst trade in league history when they sent sent four picks (three first-rounders and a third-rounder) to the Texans for Watson in March 2022. They immediately handed Watson a fully guaranteed $230MM over five years, which has gone down as another disastrous decision.
While facing widespread sexual misconduct allegations, Watson opened his Browns tenure serving an 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Injuries have held him to just 19 starts since then. The Browns have gone 9-10 with Watson at the helm. To worsen matters, they have been forced to repeatedly restructure his bloated contract. They did so for the fourth time last month.
Although Watson’s deal will finally expire after this season, the Browns will still spread an $86.2MM dead money charge from 2027-28. Owner Jimmy Haslam, who has paid a cripplingly expensive price for almost no production from Watson, admitted last April that acquiring him was a “big swing and miss.” Over a year later, though, the Haslams (Jimmy and wife Dee) are making a behind-the-scenes push for Watson to start, Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom relays.
“Jimmy Haslam has paid this guy $180M and he’s got nothing to show for it,” one general manager told La Canfora. “He’s trying to get blood from a stone but it’s not going to work. Watson is done.”
If Watson proves to be “done,” it could eventually lead to opportunities for Sanders and/or the rest of the Browns’ signal-callers. Dillon Gabriel and 2026 sixth-rounder Taylen Green are also in the team’s QBs room, but it does not appear they are under serious consideration for the starting gig. Rather, they are vying for a “developmental spot,” Cabot writes. It is more likely Gabriel and Green will receive third- and fourth-team work, leaving Watson and Sanders to divide the starting reps.
Monken has left the door open for Green, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound dual threat, to take the field in specialty packages (via Cabot). If the former Boise State and Arkansas starter impresses enough to earn a roster spot, Gabriel could be on his way out just a year after the Browns spent a third-rounder on him. The Browns may have trouble getting Gabriel on their practice squad, notes Cabot, who points to a trade as a possibility.
Gabriel made six underwhelming starts for the Browns after they traded Joe Flacco to the Bengals last October. He lost the job to Sanders after suffering a concussion in a Week 11 loss to the Ravens. Depending on how the next few months unfold, that may prove to be Gabriel’s last regular-season appearance with the Browns.
Articles like these always make me feel young again.
Last time ownership pushed for Deshaun Watson they got the worst pair of transactions in NFL history and a smoking crater in their ability to compete.
Don’t worry, that crater will be filled by their shiny new Government-Funded Sportsball Palace built with money stolen from the citizens of Ohio.
He has to start. They have to get him on the field and see if he can gain any semblance of confidence or ability back. If he wants to truly play, he will give it is all, if not, his career will be over because all eyes are on him and its doubtful another team will give him a chance.
Great opportunity as well for Sanders to push him and take the job for himself. The draft brought in some young talent to work with and both QBs can benefit if they can get protection up front.
Sorry, why do they “have to” do any of that?
They have already paid him, let him play and see if the new HC can motivate him? Imagine if Monken could get 7-8 wins out of him? He might be COTY! Doubtful sure, but maybe the entire team could respond?
“They have already paid him.” Yeah, he’s a sunk cost.
Exactly
Watson isn’t leading anything….the Cleveland media drive me nuts and their push for Watson…. have they forgotten how bad he was in 2024? DTR outplayed him! Good Lord
EVERYBODY knows how bad Watson was in 2024 … the team kept him anyway. If Sanders cant beat him out of the job, what does that say about Sanders?
Even if Watson is “handed” the job, can he rise above expectations? It would help for his football future if he could. I have never been a Watson fan, even in college, where I felt he point-shaved. I think is career is over, but would love to see him prove everybody wrong, just so Browns fans can have something to be excited about, until Shedeur proves he belongs.
There should be a rule or one of those Associated Press journalist guidelines that in articles about Sanders his Pro Bowl cannot be cited in discussion of his performance. He was in the Pro Bowl because it is based off a fan vote. It is no different than in 2016 when Zaza Pachulia was an NBA Allstar game starter because his home country Georgia fans stuffed the ballot.
No he was in the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for Drake Maye…had NOTHING to do with fan voting…
Sanders replaced Maye because the Patriot QB1 was going to the Super Bowl.