Shedeur Sanders Hyped by Browns HC Todd Monken amid Deshaun Watson QB1 Battle

Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken had plenty of good things to say about quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson as they battle for the starting spot.

"I think Shedeur has come miles in terms of his progressions, getting the ball out, his understanding of concepts," Monken told reporters Wednesday. "I think he's really, really come a long way."

He also praised Watson, though, and said his athleticism is "not a surprise, but it's exciting to see. It's a weapon for him. It's one of his superpowers."

The quarterback battle will be the biggest storyline in Cleveland during the offseason, and Monken provided something of a timeline when he told reporters he'd like to have a starter set by training camp even though he won't rush the decision and will "have it set for Jacksonville."

Cleveland opens the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13.

Notably, Sanders went first with the starters during 11-on-11s Wednesday, although Watson took the reps with the first- and second-stringers during a hurry-up drill at the end of practice after they split first-team reps during team drills, per ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi.

"Nothing's really changed," Monken said of the practice reps. "We're going to rotate guys and play the best players."

Each quarterback made some highlight throws Wednesday even though the defense got the best of them at times:

There was a time when Watson would have been the surefire starter considering he was a three-time Pro Bowler for the Houston Texans who led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards in 2020. However, he has played a total of just 19 games because of suspension and injuries since the Cleveland Browns traded for him before the 2022 season.

He is just 9-10 in those games and missed the entire 2025 campaign.

That cleared the way for Sanders to play some as a rookie last season, although he wasn't good enough to secure his spot as the long-term starter either. He went 3-4 in seven starts with seven touchdown passes, 10 interceptions and an 18.9 QBR.

Ultimately, Watson has more experience, and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler pointed to that when he reported on the quarterback battle during Sunday's SportsCenter.

"So, talking to people around the league, they believe that Watson could eventually earn this job because he's a veteran presence and if he can get back to just 70 or 80 percent of what he was from those Houston days, maybe they can sort of salvage this trade; get one productive year out of him," Fowler reported.

Monken seemed to be impressed with both Wednesday, and they will each surely have plenty of opportunities to build some momentum in the competition.