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New head coach Shedeur Sanders likes what he’s seen from the quarterback heading into his second NFL season with the Cleveland Browns.
Todd Monken has been plagued by questions about his quarterback roster since taking over the Browns head coaching job that Kevin Stefanski used to hold with the franchise.
Sanders, whom the Browns selected in the fifth round of last year’s NFL Draft, is often in those questions, as media and fans alike are curious about what awaits him after closing out the 2025 campaign as the team’s starting quarterback. However, a new coach means a new way of thinking about each position.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders reacts on the sideline during the first half of an NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers in Cleveland on Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Monken, however, spoke about Sanders’ development on Wednesday, where he said he’s looking at a player who has already “come a long way.”
“I think Shedeur has come a long way, in terms of his progressions, how to serve the ball, his understanding of concepts. I think he’s really come a long way,” Monken told reporters via ESPN.
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After the Browns took Joe Flacco to start the season, then Dillon Gabriel when Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, Sanders finally got a chance against the Las Vegas Raiders. He won his first NFL start and Stefanski named him the starter for the rest of the season.
But Sanders and Deshaun Watson, who returned from injury heading into 2026, continued to take split reps with the first team during team drills in the Browns’ second OTA practice.
Head coach Todd Monken of the Cleveland Browns looks on during a voluntary minicamp for veterans at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, Ohio, on April 21, 2026. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Watson, whose tenure in Cleveland has been the exact opposite of what the team expected when they traded him and signed him to a massive contract in 2022. It was $230 million fully guaranteed over five years, but he tore his Achilles tendon in October 2024 and didn’t play at all in 2025.
Still, back on the field, Monken said, “Deshaun’s athleticism shows.”
“Obviously he’s had that, but he’s had injuries that have set him back. I wouldn’t say it’s a surprise, but it’s exciting to see — it’s a weapon for him. It’s one of his superpowers, his athleticism.”
The Browns still have Gabriel, as well as rookie Taylen Green, on their roster heading into the season. But it’s clear the competition begins with Watson and Sanders with training camp scheduled for July.
Monken won’t rush to any conclusions about the position, but he does want to name a starter at the start of training camp.
Cleveland Browns quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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“You’d love to have him at every position at the end of spring, but you can’t guarantee it,” Monken said.
Until then, Sanders and the rest of the Browns roster will look to impress their new coach.
