All that outsiders really know for sure about the competition for the Cleveland Browns’
starting quarterback job involving Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson is that first-year Browns head coach Todd Monken is extending the battle into the summer and training camp, which is set to begin in late July.
During an appearance on the latest edition of the ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand “The Daily Grossi” program, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler shared what Browns fans can expect once Sanders and Watson report for training-camp practices next month.
Todd Monken is fine with embracing an “uncomfortable” timeline for Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson decision
“You know, it is a new head coach. There is not a lot of precedent,” Fowler said about the Browns’ situation, per Sean Deveney of Heavy. “I get the sense Todd Monken wants to see a lot more. He wants to ride this out and maybe be uncomfortable with the noise for an extra week if he has to. I don’t think it is like there is a clear favorite we’ll name in two weeks…Certainly, I think Deshaun Watson is well-positioned. I want to be clear on that. But it’s a race. It really is.”
Fowler’s comments were made public on the same day a story suggested that Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam “wants Watson to play and try to earn” what’s remaining of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract that Haslam gave Watson as part of acquiring the signal-caller from the Houston Texans
in March 2022. While Watson seemingly once had the lead in the battle for the QB1 gig, Sanders allegedly “‘made really nice strides’ in the last two weeks of practices” through the team’s mandatory minicamp, which ended this past Thursday.
Browns opponents should expect to see plenty of Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson in August
Cleveland opens its preseason with a game at the Chicago Bears
on Aug. 15. The Browns will host the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22, and Cleveland will then end the exhibition portion of its calendar with a matchup versus the New England Patriots on Aug. 27.
“A lot is going to have to happen — 90% of the story has not been told yet as far as who’s going to start at quarterback because you need those five, six days in a row, like you get in training camp with pads, joint practices, preseason game action. I expect both quarterbacks to get some preseason game action,” Fowler added about the Browns’ competition. “I think it is going to be structured like it was in the spring, where you do first and second team, the guys get different runs at different times, and you make the best of it.”
In short, it sounds like something drastic would have to happen for Monken to name his starter before the Browns face the Bills in August.
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