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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 quarterback depth chart since taking the Browns head coaching job that Kevin Stefanski used to hold with the franchise.
Sanders, who the Browns took in the fifth round of last year’s NFL Draft, is usually in these questions as media and fans alike are curious about what’s in store for him after closing out the 2025 campaign as the team’s starting quarterback. But a new coach means rethinking 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)
However, Monken addressed Sanders’ development Wednesday, saying he sees a player who has already “come a long way.”
“I think Shedeur has come a long way 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 the starter for the remainder of the season.
But Sanders and Deshaun Watson, who is back from injury heading into 2026, have continued to take shared first-team reps during team drills at the Browns’ second OTA practice.
Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken looks on during a voluntary veterans minicamp at the 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 up 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 “Deshaun’s athleticism is showing.”
“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 preseason depth chart. But it’s clear the competition starts with Watson and Sanders with training camp set for July.
Monken won’t jump to any conclusions at the position, but he does want to name a starter by the start 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 September 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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“You’d love to have it at every position at the end of the 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.
