Todd Monken: Shedeur Sanders is more decisive

Browns head coach Todd Monken says second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders has improved by making quicker, more decisive decisions, and that the quarterback competition will keep going into training camp. Monken also pointed to Sanders’ need to process faster

Browns minicamp is ending, but the quarterback race isn’t. Todd Monken made it clear this week that the competition for the starting job will continue into training camp, giving second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders another chance to prove what he can do with pads on.

Monken said he’s already seen improvement in a key part of Sanders’ game. “I just think he’s doing a better job — I think he’s being more decisive. ” Monken said. via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. He added that it still feels like Sanders is moving faster through the read-and-release process even without pads. “Now, it’s easy to say [right now], we’re not in pads. It just feels like he’s making quicker decisions. The ball’s coming out of his hands, which he’s going to have to do. Not that he doesn’t have playmaking ability, because he does. But his ability to process quicker and get the ball out of his hands and eliminate lost yards. plays is going to be huge.”.

Monken tied that improvement to the bigger standard for quarterbacks. “He has to be able to stack plays and score, which is ultimately the No. 1 thing to do.”

For Sanders, the coaching emphasis lands on a real issue from his rookie season. He had trouble holding onto the ball too long as a first-year pro, and the numbers backed it up: he finished the season having taken 23 sacks in his eight games with seven starts, a sack rate of 9.79 percent.

Still, there were flashes that deserve context. In 2025, Sanders completed 56.6 percent of his throws for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

When the Browns finally get to training camp and the pads come on, Sanders will be judged not just on what he can do in space, but on whether he can make those quicker decisions Monken is seeing—especially when pressure arrives faster and the margin for lost yards shrinks.

The competition the Browns are betting on will be more than one name on the depth chart. Monken said multiple times this week that he feels both quarterbacks—Sanders and Deshaun Watson—are capable of playing winning football in 2026. and that’s where the stakes of minicamp’s end point toward the next step in the process.

Browns Todd Monken Shedeur Sanders Deshaun Watson NFL quarterback competition minicamp training camp 2026