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Shedeur Sanders’ new head coach likes what he’s seen from the quarterback heading into his second NFL season with the Cleveland Browns.
Todd Monken has been peppered with questions about his quarterbacks depth chart since taking the Browns’ head coaching job, which Kevin Stefanski used to have with the franchise.
Sanders, whom the Browns took in the fifth round of last year’s NFL Draft, is usually in those questions, as media and fans alike are curious what’s in store for him after closing out the 2025 campaign as the team’s starting quarterback. However, a new coach means new thinking about every 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, though, spoke to Sanders’ development on Wednesday, where he said he’s seeing a player who has already “come a long way.”
“I think Shedeur’s come miles, in terms of his progressions, getting the ball out, his understanding of concepts. I think he’s really, really come a long way,” Monken told reporters, via ESPN.
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After the Browns went with Joe Flacco to start the season, then Dillon Gabriel when Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, Sanders finally got a shot against the Las Vegas Raiders. He won his first-ever start in the NFL, and Stefanski named him starter the remainder of the season.
But Sanders and Deshaun Watson, who’s back from injury heading into 2026, have continued to take split first-team reps during team drills at the Browns’ second OTA practice.
Head coach Todd Monken of the Cleveland Browns looks on during a voluntary veteran minicamp 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 had hoped for when they traded for and signed him to a massive contract in 2022. It was a fully guaranteed $230 million over five years, but he tore his Achilles in October 2024 and didn’t play at all in 2025.
Still, back on the gridiron, Monken said that “Deshaun’s athleticism shows up.”
“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 depth chart ahead of the season. But it’s clear the competition starts with Watson and Sanders with training camp set for July.
Monken won’t be rushing to any conclusion at the position, but he does wish to name a starter by the beginning of training camp.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns 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 it at every position at the end of spring, but you can’t guarantee that,” Monken said.
Until then, Sanders and the rest of the Browns’ roster will look to impress their new coach.
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