Browns' Todd Monken gives Deshaun Watson update that's more bad news for Shedeur Sanders

There was a time earlier in the offseason when 2025 rookie Shedeur Sanders was viewed as the favorite to open the 2026 campaign as the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback over veteran Deshaun Watson, if only because Sanders ended last season as Cleveland's QB1. 

However, numerous reports have since emerged claiming that Watson has a significant lead in the quarterback competition that may not even run through the start of training camp. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken made it clear he is giving Watson a fresh start. 

Todd Monken "all for" giving Deshaun Watson a "clean slate"

"He’s been great," Monken said about Watson, per the Browns' website. "I think everybody would say it – I’m all for a clean slate. I want the best for every player we have, every coach – I want the best for everybody in this world to have a great life. I think it’s really cool that he still has an opportunity, with a change, to showcase his ability and see where he’s at. I’m all for it." 

Watson was arguably the NFL's worst starting quarterback during the 2024 season before he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in October of that year. He then didn't play at all last season after he reinjured his Achilles during his recovery. 

Deshaun Watson has impressed Todd Monken in this way

Watson has made just 19 regular-season starts since the Browns acquired him from the Houston Texans and then signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022. Multiple reports from this spring have suggested that Cleveland doesn't plan to bring him back next year. On Wednesday, Monken indicated that Watson is motivated to show his current employer and other teams that he can reclaim the form that made him a three-time Pro Bowl selection during his Houston tenure. 

"I think it’s really cool," Monken said about Watson's desire to silence doubters. "I know I’ve said that like five times today, but here’s a guy that at this point has made plenty of money – I think we all know that. He’s had plenty of success and has had disappointment in his career, a number of things he couldn’t control from an injury standpoint. But to come back and want to battle, want to further his career and change the narrative – I think it’s really cool."

Monken added that he "can’t guarantee" he'll name a QB1 before Cleveland's mandatory minicamp wraps up on June 11. That said, it continues to sound like Watson, and not Sanders, will get the nod for the Browns' Week 1 game at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13.