Now that the Cleveland Browns have settled the matter of Myles Garrett and whether he’s happy, whether he’s attending OTAs or whether he’s reached out to Todd Monken via phone, Zoom or smoke signal, we can get back to the one other question that has dominated the offseason in Berea: Who’s the quarterback? We have no firm answers on the Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders QB1 battle, despite repeated reports that it is Watson leading the way. Ideally, Monken has said he would know his QB1 by the time training camp opens.
That’s in late July. In the meantime, Monken has only another set of OTAs–the Browns are in their final run of OTAs now–to size up whether it will be Sanders or Watson leading the pack when the summer work opens.
As Mary Kay Cabot reported on Wednesday, it’s at the end of minicamp (June 9-11) that the big decision is expected.
As she wrote: “Todd Monken still plans to decide between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders as QB1 on his depth chart by the end of mandatory minicamp next week.”
Todd Monken: ‘We’re in a Good Place’
On Wednesday, with the media watching OTAs, it was Watson who opened practice with the first team. That doesn’t mean he will be the QB1 but it is a nugget. Monken said he has been trying to alternate Sanders and Watson with the first team.
Monken addressed reporters on Monday, the day the team traded Garrett, so his outline of what would happen at quarterback was easily obfuscated.
He said that he does expect the competition to keep going even in camp, even after he picks his initial QB1: “I think I anticipate there still being competition, but that doesn’t mean that the reps will be equal. That’s the easiest way to put it.
“I mean, I think we’re in a good place right now with our quarterback room. All of the guys that are in there are working hard, and I like the level of talent that we have in there. But, you know, the next six days will go a long way into how we go into fall camp. And we’ll have in our minds, I think, where we’re at in every position. Every position you have a form of a depth chart in your mind, and maybe it won’t be locked in, but certainly the reps will have to get distributed differently once we get to camp.”
Browns Won’t Use 10th OTA Day
Monken did add that the Browns, as they wrap up their OTAs on Thursday, the third day of their third session, are not planning to use their 10th day. Under NFL rules, teams are allowed to hold 10 days of OTAs, and while the Browns do figure to have some sort of 10th day activity on Friday, it won’t be more installation practices.
Said Monken: “We’re probably on Friday, going to make it a competition day and a little bit fun on Friday, heading into the final week with mandatory minicamp. So, I would doubt that on Friday that we’ll end up using that day. We’ll use it for video and haven’t had a chance to address team, but then we’ll have a competition day.”
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