The Cleveland Browns dropped their preseason opener 34-10 against the Chicago Bears, but the game surely answered a few questions while raising several new ones. Veteran Deshaun Watson returned to action for the first time since his Achilles injury and turned heads before second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders took over. After the game, however, Todd Monken couldn’t help but rave about his veteran signal-caller.
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“It was awesome,” Monken said. “It was so cool to watch him play. I get all of the frustration by fans, himself. But for him to come back and work like he did is an unbelievable credit to him. And then to go out there, he was having fun today. And that is so cool. And I thought he really functioned at a high level. Certainly we don’t want to be taking timeouts. We sure as heck can’t take delay of games, OK? But it was fun watching him play and watching us put the next step forward and see where we’re at.”
However, while sharing his thoughts on Monken’s comments on social media, NFL analyst Sam Monson offered a brief assessment of Shedeur Sanders’ trajectory ahead of the 2026 season. According to Monson, the decision over who starts for the Browns in 2026 may not entirely be in the head coach’s hands, as he wrote, “Starting to think the call is being made above Monken.”
It’s not the first time someone has raised questions about whether Monken has the power to decide the starting quarterback ahead of Week 1. A couple of weeks ago, Chad Johnson noted that while he would love to see Shedeur start this season, the Browns may look at the business side of things and hand the job to Watson.
According to him, Watson is entering the final year of his five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal, and the Browns haven’t gotten much out of that investment so far, with Watson starting just 19 games since signing the deal while dealing with multiple injuries.
This is exactly why Johnson explained that “Todd Monken don’t make the decision at the end of the day. That comes from the top.”
Whether the decision rests with Monken or is ultimately in the hands of the ownership, the Browns have yet to name their QB1 with the regular season fast approaching. The head coach made it clear that he would alternate between Watson and Sanders over the first two preseason games. Against the Bears, Watson delivered a notable performance, completing 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards and leading two scoring drives.
After Watson completed the first half, Sanders took over in the second half and completed 6 of 11 passes for 79 yards. That said, the Browns will hold a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills before their second preseason game against Buffalo. While Shedeur Sanders is expected to start against the Bills, it remains to be seen whether he will carry that role into the regular-season opener.