Todd Monken blows Browns quarterback battle wide open with fresh decision deadline in boost to Shedeur Sanders

Todd Monken has confirmed there is no early leader in the battle to be the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback, in a boost to Shedeur Sanders.

Following voluntary minicamp last week, reports claimed that Deshaun Watson had emerged with an edge over the second-year signal caller.

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Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot wrote that the $230 million star has the ‘inside track to be named QB1’ in a piece for Cleveland.com that upset Shedeur’s brother, Shilo Sanders.

Monken on Friday provided an update on the battle, and while he has hopes to name his starting QB before the team opens training camp in late July, he has admitted that it’s still too early to make any decisions.

Browns quarterback battle wide open despite Deshaun Watson reports

“It’s my job to let it play out,” the new head coach said, during an interview on Cleveland’s WKRK-FM.

During voluntary minicamp, Watson was usually first in line as the group rotated through drills, but Monken has revealed the script called for Sanders to take more reps.

The Browns also drafted another young quarterback in Taylen Green last week, and he could compete with the pair, and expected third-stringer Dillon Gabriel.

“I’m not there yet, so I can’t say (there’s a leader),” Monken added of the battle, during an appearance on The Ken Carman Show.

“We’ve been on the field three practices, which was awesome.

“Now we’re back off for three weeks. It’s always changing based on what you see.

“I don’t have a history with any of our players… I wasn’t here, they’re all external for me.

“What I’ve seen after three days gives us a little bit of a 40,000 feet view of where we’re at, but that can change once we get back on the field for four weeks, at the end of spring.

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“We’ll have a better idea then.”

Monken went on to admit that the battle will likely be fluid, and could change week-to-week.

He added: “There’s only so many reps you get — you’ve got to start to target who’s going to start opening day.

“That can still change, and that can change even if someone’s getting two thirds of the reps, to someone getting a third of the reps.

“You’re still going to play preseason games, so we’re going to want to see those guys at quarterback, and see how they play.”

Once again, it seems Browns fans will be in for a long summer of uncertainty.

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Monken has set a deadline of late July to make his quarterback choice, but the preseason games he mentioned will take place later than that, which suggests he’ll be open to chopping and changing into August.

What are the key dates in the Browns offseason and training camp program?

Cleveland’s first organized team activity (OTA) practice is scheduled later this month, for May 19.

The team can have up to 10 OTA practices ahead of a mid-June mandatory minicamp, which runs through June 9-11 and wraps up the offseason program.

No date has yet been announced for the beginning of training camp, but the NFL’s official website lists July 22 as the likely first scheduled day across the league — hence Monken’s deadline.

That gives the Browns HC just under three months to work with Sanders and Watson, as well as Gabriel and Green, to work out his depth chart and meet that self-imposed training camp target.

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