Browns' Todd Monken expands on aspect of Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson competition

New Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken raised eyebrows when he suggested in March that practice reps involving quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson would not be divided equally during the voluntary portion of the offseason program. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Monken warned that outsiders shouldn't read too much into who takes which snaps this spring. 

Todd Monken reveals "non-negotiables" for Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson competition

"We’ll be willing to switch that," Monken explained, per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "That’s not set in stone. That’s something we can flip, just like the practice plays. We can flip that any given day, how we see fit, that gives us the best chance to develop our players. Now, how they go about it, how they study, how they take care of their body, how they manage our team, how they lead, those are set in stone. Those are non-negotiables."

Monken wasn't with the Browns when they signed Watson to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022 or when the club selected Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Monken indicated that he is encouraged by what he has seen from both signal-callers and from 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel this week. 

"All three guys were bright-eyed, wanting to learn," Monken said about the quarterbacks. "I was fired up. You couldn’t ask for a better start in that QB room."

Todd Monken challenges Browns quarterbacks 

A report from before Easter hinted that Sanders, not Watson, should be considered the favorite to win the Cleveland starting job this summer. Cabot acknowledged that Gabriel seems to be "in the mix, but perhaps to a lesser extent than the other two" as it pertains to possibly entering September as the Browns' QB1. 

It sounds like Monken's preliminary depth chart will be assembled based on how the quarterbacks master or struggle with learning a new playbook during this portion of the offseason program. 

"Just to give an example of teaching someone the history of a gun," Monken added about his mindset. "How was a gun made? Where did it come from? Now, ultimately, we want to teach them how to fire it. And that’s what we want to do as coaches. I want to teach them formations. They can study that. Motions, shifts, how we get aligned, memorization. We want our coaches to be able to coach how to do it and show it visually."

In short, Monken seemingly wants it known that neither Sanders nor Watson has any type of grip on the starting job following the Easter holiday.