For the first time in nine years, the Cleveland Browns are preparing for a season without defensive end Myles Garrett. Following Garrett's trade to the LA Rams on June 1, the Browns hosted their mandatory minicamp from June 9 to June 11. 

On June 9, Browns’ insider Mary Kay Cabot shared her biggest takeaways from the Browns minicamp via cleveland.com. She discussed the new defensive line, the WR room, and the quarterback situation.

In exchange for Garrett, the Browns acquired defensive end Jared Verse and multiple draft picks. Cabot reported that after being limited to individual drills at the OTAs last week, Verse finally made a debut in team drills on Day 1 of the minicamp on Tuesday. 

The 25-year-old rotated with fellow edge rushers Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire, familiarizing himself with his new teammates. Head coach Todd Monken was pleased with his appearance at the minicamp and called him “a pro”.

Cornerback Tyson Campbell admitted that Garrett’s trade surprised him. But he praised Verse and declared that he saw a “great player” in him who’ll make for an exciting defense after Garrett’s departure. 

Cabot also shared an update on the Browns’ wide receivers.

Wide receiver KC Concepcion, the No.24 overall pick of the Browns during the 2026 NFL Draft, finally signed his rookie contract on Tuesday. The four-year, $20 million deal comes with an option to extend to the fifth year.

With this, all of the 10 draft picks of the Browns are now under contract. 

Cabot then addressed the progress of second-year wide receiver Isaiah Bond. She revealed that he has improved significantly from his previous season and built chemistry with both QBs, Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson.

Lion Lampert of the Dawg Pound Daily revealed that Bond has been “singled out” by Monken as a player who has shown improvement in the spring. 

The Browns are dealing with injuries on the defensive line with defensive tackles Mason Graham and Maliek Collins. However, the team’s most pressing question during the minicamp continues to be about the QB1 spot.

Browns QB1 Battle Takes Unexpected Turn, per Cabot

On the latest episode of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast, Mary Kay Cabot and Browns beat reporter Ashley Bastock shared their observations related to the Browns' QB battle. 

They revealed that QB Shedeur Sanders took every single first-team rep, turning the tides against veteran Deshaun Watson.

"It's taken him [Shedeur] a little while to get rolling in this quarterback competition. But he came on strong over the past two weeks, and he's made it a real competition, and he looked really efficient yesterday," Cabot said.

Their analysis comes as a surprise, as the popular narrative until now was that Watson was in the lead because of his experience. However, it seems Sanders' hard work is paying off, and Monken has noticed the development.

Per Cabot, Monken has taken a step back in his QB1 decision, seeing Sanders' progress. The coach hopes to make the call by training camp or by the two preseason games. 

Cabot concluded by saying that the QB1 competition is a “true fierce and heated” battle that isn’t over just yet. 

Read more at the Cleveland Browns Community!

Written by

Naomi Grace

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit