Todd Monken says Shedeur Sanders has “come miles” since his rookie season, praising his progress in reads, decision-making and getting the ball out as the Browns continue OTA practices. Sanders and Deshaun Watson split first-team reps, and Monken hopes to have
Shedeur Sanders didn’t land quietly in the league. Last season, he made the Pro Bowl even though he started only seven games, finishing with seven touchdown passes against 10 interceptions.
Now, the Browns are treating that spark as part of an ongoing competition. Sanders is firmly in the mix with Deshaun Watson for the team’s starting quarterback job, and head coach Todd Monken has made it clear he’s seen measurable progress.
Monken praised Sanders’ development since last season, focusing on what’s changing under the hood. “I think Shedeur’s come miles, in terms of his progressions, getting the ball out, his understanding of concepts,” Monken said. “I think he’s really, really come a long way.”
That praise comes as the Browns continue OTAs, with Wednesday marking their second practice session. During the work, Sanders and Watson split the first-team reps, while Dillon Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green took second- and third-team reps.
The offseason routine is part of why Sanders stands out in the building. He’s the only one of the Browns’ four quarterbacks who spent the offseason working at the team facility.
Monken also set expectations for how quickly the quarterback picture should stabilize. He hopes to have a starting quarterback identified before training camp, but he tempered the timing. “You’d love to have it at every position at the end of spring. but you can’t guarantee that. ” Monken said. “We’ll have it set for Jacksonville [in Week 1].”.
With Sanders and Watson taking the top reps side by side, the competition isn’t settled yet. But Monken’s message is unmistakable: in his eyes, Sanders has taken steps that make him harder to overlook.
Todd Monken Shedeur Sanders Deshaun Watson Cleveland Browns OTAs Pro Bowl quarterback competition Dillon Gabriel Taylen Green Jacksonville Week 1
Browns finally got a QB worth watching? I’m hype.
Wait so Shedeur is gonna start over Watson already or what? They always say “competition” and then it’s just the same dude again.
He made Pro Bowl but started 7 games and had like 10 interceptions… that’s not exactly “come miles” to me lol. Maybe they’re just not showing the bad tape in OTAs. Also Todd Monken sounds way too confident for a Week 1 thing.
I don’t trust any of this OTA talk. They said it was gonna be settled by training camp last year too. Jacksonville Week 1 like they’re planning a whole movie script—meanwhile Watson always looks good in practice and then game day happens and everyone acts surprised.