Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken has spent the first 10 days of training camp putting the offense through its paces as he ponders what to do with an uninspiring quarterback room.
Monken has the unenviable task of choosing between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders to start the August 15 preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
It is not a make-or-break decision by any means; Monken has said that he expects to give both Watson and Sanders a start in the preseason. And depending
on which day of the week it is, and which quarterback fans are predisposed to prefer, either Watson has flexed his veteran presence to firmly grasp the QB1 role, or Sanders has shown enough improvement and grasp of the offense to be the obvious choice.
Thankfully, at least as it pertains to the game against the Bears, we all may know soon enough which quarterback will be in the huddle for the first offensive series of the preseason, as Monken and the staff will spend the next few days reviewing the candidates and then make the decision public (quotes via The Beacon Journal):
“That’s something we’ll talk about tomorrow. I think tonight, tomorrow, and then Monday, we’ll start to really focus in on who’s going to start, how we’re going to play our guys, and where we’re at a quarterback’s a piece of that.
“We’re now done with installs (and have had) a chance to assess. We already talked about it last night and then tomorrow. And now we’re into game week. Closest thing we’ll have to a game is the Bears. And so I will start to put the pieces where we think, again, at that time after another week, we’ll reassess come Monday. But you’ll see that on Monday.”
Monken previously stated that he would give both Watson and Sanders one start in the preseason before making the final call about which quarterback will start the opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But that plan is subject to change depending on how things go next week in practice and then in the game against the Bears, according to Monken (quote via Browns Zone):
“That’s still in mind. We’re still on that track of liking to have one start one game and then the other. But everything we do is subject to change. I mean, with every position we have on the field. We’ll see how it goes today. We’ll see how it goes Monday. We’ll see how it goes Tuesday. And then we’ll put our best foot forward next Saturday.”
The good news is that by Monday everyone should know the plan for the preseason game against the Bears.
The bad news is that it really doesn’t matter which quarterback Monken picks, as neither has shown enough to instill confidence that they can be the answer. And the debate over which quarterback is the right choice – Watson or Sanders – will continue long into the upcoming season.
