The Browns are getting closer and closer to naming a starting quarterback.
In a Sunday press conference with reporters via Zoom, coach Todd Monken said the team will name a starting quarterback on Monday.
What else at this point does he need to do to get there?
“I still have a few things to weigh out,” Monken said. “I’m not going to get into that. But we anticipate naming a starter tomorrow.”
Monken said Saturday’s postgame comments from quarterback Deshaun Watson regarding getting booed during the game (and being cheered when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in 2024) will not be a factor in the decision.
The first-year coach also was asked about the reality that, for the Week 3 home opener, the fans could respond negatively to Watson’s presence as the starter.
“I’m not concerned about that,” Monken said. “What I’m concerned about is us playing well, as a team and on offense. Because when you play well, none of the other stuff matters.”
Monken is approaching all of this from a football perspective, which is fine. But the Watson situation is far more complicated than that. There’s a history that predates Monken’s hiring. An ugly one, which reached a low point on Saturday.
Monken seems to think none of that matters, focusing only on the quality of the next performance and not the past vibe that the trade for Watson, his contract, and his play has created.
For example, Monken compared fan reaction to going to a restaurant and getting cold soup. This ignores the simple fact that, as far as pro football goes, there’s only one restaurant in town. And the soup has been cold, moldy, and littered with rubber bands, consistently and repeatedly.
It’s entirely possible that Monken, who said the decision is ultimately his, has made his choice and will spend the next day getting everyone in the building on board who needs to be on board. And, possibly, to figure out a solution to Watson’s role — if the decision is made that Watson won’t be the starter.
Really, if Monken doesn’t know which way things are going today, what will change between now and Monday?
More immediately, the Browns have another home game on Thursday night to cap the preseason. At this point, it would be ludicrous to put Watson on the field again, five days after being relentlessly booed.
If he’s not the starter, and if with Monken saying the starting quarterback will not play on Thursday, the Browns likely will need to use Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green in the last game that doesn’t count, if Watson isn’t named the starter.