Todd Monken Says He’s Impressed With Both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders

The Cleveland Browns still don’t have a starting quarterback, and depending on who you ask, that’s either a problem or exactly the plan. Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are locked in a training camp battle for the job, and head coach Todd Monken isn’t ready to hand it to either one.

Monken has three quarterbacks in his room worth watching, but the real competition has come down to Watson and Sanders. Both bring something different. Watson has the experience and the arm talent that made him a three-time Pro Bowler in Houston. Sanders has the pedigree and the flashes of playmaking that got him drafted, then started, as a rookie. Only one of them opens the season under center.

Monken has an intriguing job ahead of him, but he says he likes what he’s watching so far. Speaking to reporters, he laid out where things stand.

“I’ve been impressed with both players and the way they’ve handled the back and forth of the reps, and we’re trying as best we can to balance the reps so we get both of them an opportunity to showcase their skill set,” Monken said. “It’s never gonna be perfect, and they’ve handled that great.”

Monken also touched on the emotional side of a two-man competition, and made clear he wants to see a little fire from both of his quarterbacks.

“Shedeur today was great. Maybe Saturday he would have preferred to be with the ones. I’d be pissed if he wasn’t. All of our guys should want to be with the ones. But they’ve been great, and I think they’ve both improved. Even the last week or so, Deshaun has played better. He looks better. He’s made better decisions. I think some of that grows, like all of us, as they have success, right? Their confidence grows with the success that they have every day.”

Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot posted the full comments on X: “Todd Monken on how both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders can still win the job and where things stand” —

#Browns Todd Monken on how both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders can still win the job and where things stand: pic.twitter.com/gvFPtPXv7e

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 10, 2026

Monken’s praise for both players comes as the competition may already be tilting. Multiple outlets have reported that Watson took every first-team rep during Saturday’s practice, a session that was originally supposed to belong to Sanders. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Sunday that Watson appears to have taken the lead in the race, crediting the veteran’s command of the offense. “It certainly seems like Deshaun Watson has the leg up here. He is the one who is more well-versed in the Browns’ offensive operations,” Rapoport said, according to ClutchPoints.

That’s reported, not confirmed. Monken has given no public indication that the competition is over, and he’s on record saying he doesn’t plan to finalize a starter until closer to Cleveland’s regular-season opener in Jacksonville. Still, the Saturday rep distribution and Watson’s improved decision-making — the exact traits Monken highlighted in his comments — line up with what Rapoport and other reporters are describing.

Here’s how the two quarterbacks compare heading into the preseason:

The preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 15 could offer the first real hint of where Monken is leaning. There are still three preseason games left before Week 1, and camp battles have flipped before. Both quarterbacks have improved, by Monken’s own account, and neither has been eliminated from the job.

For a Browns team that has cycled through 19 different starting quarterbacks over the past decade, having two players Monken is genuinely pleased with, even if it means an unresolved quarterback room deep into August, counts as progress.