With an open competition unfolding for the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback job, head coach Todd Monken reiterates his stance on when he wants to have a starter figured out. Everything is subject to change, though.
For the second consecutive offseason, there's a quarterback competition unfolding in Berea for the Cleveland Browns.
Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel are expected to spend the coming month jockeying for position on the depth chart. Ideally, head coach Todd Monken hopes to have the QB pecking order figured out by the time the mandatory minicamp wraps on June 11.
Monken doubled down on that being his plan during an interview with 92.3 The Fan's Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima.
"I would love to have that, I'm not there yet," Monken said of the current state of the QB situation. "We've been on the field for three practices, which was awesome ... what I've seen after three days, okay, that gives us a little bit of a 40,000-foot view of where we're at, but that can change once we get back on the field in four weeks, at the end of this spring, we'll have a better idea of that. There's only so many reps you get, you gotta start the target towards who's gonna start opening day."
It makes sense why Monken would want to have his QB situation mostly resolved before training camp. That time of year is supposed to be about fully installing the offense ahead of the season, and building chemistry between a quarterback and his o-line and his weapon.
Still, Monken's not being close-minded to the fact that things can even change in the month leading up to the regular season.
"That can still change," Monken said. "And that can change even if someone's getting 2/3 of the reps, someone's getting 1/3 of the reps, cause you're still gonna play preseason games. You're still gonna wanna see those guys at quarterback."
Monken's comments come on the heels of a report from Cleveland.com this week that Watson emerged from the team's voluntary minicamp last week as the leader in the clubhouse for the starting job.
The Browns' head man was asked about the report that has seemingly erupted into a national story, drawing controversial commentary from Sander's brother, among plenty of others. Monken made it clear that he hasn't made any final decisions regarding his starting QB at this point.
The weeks ahead will start to paint a clearer picture of who truly has the edge. Cleveland will hold three different rounds of OTAs over the final two weeks of May and the first week of June. Mandatory minicamp is slated for June 9-11.
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