Browns New HC Todd Monken Noncommittal to Shedeur Sanders Being QB1

Priority No. 1 for new Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken is putting the finishing touches on his coaching staff, something the 59-year-old wouldn't put a timeline on during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. 

After that, his attention will quickly shift towards assembling a competitive roster for 2026. The biggest makeover is expected to come on the offensive side of the ball. Monken expressed plenty of excitement about building that unit, which is his expertise, from the ground up. 

Naturally, the biggest question he'll have to answer on offense is who will start under center next season. And while everyone wants that answer now, Monken was unwilling to commit to any of the three QBs currently on the roster as his starter for 2026.

Including Shedeur Sanders.

"I think like any position on the team, that’s still to be determined," Monken explained. "Am I excited about Shedeur? Am I excited about all the quarterbacks in the room? Am I excited to coach this football team? Absolutely. I can’t wait for them to get back and for us to get started."

His comments echoed those of vice president of football operations, Andrew Berry, after the season. Back then, Berry made it clear that the quarterback situation was one they'd sort through in the coming weeks and months. He added that the new coach would have plenty of say in that conversation as well. 

"We're going to do our work on the quarterback market," said Berry. "It's too important of a position and it's something that has to be solidified. I can't sit here and tell you today whether the solution for, or the starter in 2026 is internal or external. But it's something that we're going to work through over the next several weeks. And quite honestly, the new head coach will also have a lot of input into that as well."

It's fair that the Browns would be taking such an open-minded approach to the most important position on the field. Shedeur certainly showed some promise in year one, but as even Berry admitted, is still a work-in-progress. 

Dillon Gabriel had his fair share of rookie struggles in five starts and didn't seem to provide the same juice to the offense that Sanders did. Meanwhile, veteran Deshaun Watson remains a big question as he comes back from a twice ruptured Achilles.

Essentially, one of the internal options are slam dunks, which is why Monken and company should be exploring all options. Monken did provide a little insight into what he's looking for in a QB, though. 

I’m just going to start with personality traits. I mean, when you talk about who’s going to lead this team, who has the ‘it’ factor?," he said. "Who has those characteristics that the team wants to follow and believes in them because the ball’s in their hand every down. This game is going to come down to two-minute situations, four-minute situations where you’ve got to be able to execute the high level." 

For what it's worth, of all the quarterbacks currently on the roster, Sanders does seem to fit that description the best.