Todd Monken, the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, has met with media members multiple times now in this offseason–back when he was first hired in February, again at the draft combine, then at the owners’ meetings in March, and yet again at the team’s first workouts in April and throughout the NFL draft. Every time he has faced reporters, he has been asked about the state of play in the race to be the Browns’ starting quarterback, a race primarily between oft-injured veteran Deshaun Watson and second-year man Shedeur Sanders.
By the time Monken faced reporters again last week during OTAs, it was clear he did not much want to keep talking about the quarterback race, especially because so little has changed. So, on Wednesday, Monken was able to slip out without addressing reporters at all, leaving that task to the coordinators. And sure enough, this time, it was offensive coordinator Travis Switzer who got a crack at the QB question.
Switzer, like Monken, two-stepped his way around the question of which quarterback is leading the race. His answer: “I don’t know that we have somebody who’s ahead. Like I said, we’re pleased with both their progress, and all the guys are doing a nice job.”
Shedeur Sanders ‘Is a Gamer’
But we have readers of tea leaves on hand–namely the Browns reporters who cover the team daily. And one of those, veteran writer Mary Kay Cabot, reported early this month that the team is leaning toward Watson taking the QB1 prize. She said on Thursday that not much has changed through five OTA practices–but she left a wide swath of room for Sanders to retake the job that was his for the final seven games of last season.
Speaking on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, Cabot said: “I do believe (Watson) is the leader in the clubhouse right now. That’s what it looks like when we look out there at practice and that’s what it looks like based on the performance of the two quarterbacks, Deshaun and Shedeur.
“But here’s the thing to remember about Shedeur Sanders: Shedeur is a gamer. Shedeur plays on natural instincts, when the lights are on and it is time for him to move down the field in a 2-minute situation, he gets in a zone and he lets his natural instincts take over. … He is not necessarily going to excel or shine in these types of practice settings because this isn’t when you get into that zone, get into that rhythm.”
Browns QB Competition ‘Not 100%’
The implication there is that Sanders could just keep things close with Watson for the time being then perhaps impress Browns coaches when things get more competitive during training camp and in the preseason. Cabot was not alone in that assessment. Zac Jackson of The Athletic had the same outlook.
Jackson wrote on Thursday: “The quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders still appears to be undecided, and Sanders worked with the No. 1 offensive group in the instructional periods of practice a week after Watson spent the majority of the open practice with the starters.”
And speaking later on “The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show” Jackson said that while Watson is ahead, “I don’t feel like 100% but he is leading the competition based on what we’ve seen.”
There is, then, still room for Sanders to move up to No. 1.
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