Feb 16, 2026, 6:15 PM CUT

Shedeur Sanders' Future in Doubt as Todd Monken Makes Confident Deshaun Watson Claim

Deshaun Watson has gained momentum in the Browns’ starting quarterback race. After head coach Todd Monken’s latest admission over the active quarterbacks, Watson seems to have a better chance than 2025 rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.

“And then you’ve got a player like Deshaun, who’s coming back from injury and at one time was a Pro Bowl player, and an elite player in this league, that we would love to tap back into that.”

After Monken said that the franchise has yet to decide on QB 1 in his introductory press conference, this is the first time Monken opined on Watson.

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The 30-year-old has finally made his comeback after sustaining an Achilles injury. Watson had signed a $230 million contract for five years.

However, in his three years with the Browns, he had just 3,365 yards and 19 touchdowns across 19 games. It wasn't near his career-best 4,823-yard, 33-touchdown season at the Texans.

And so the Browns drafted Sanders and Gabriel in 2025. But both players didn't have the best start. While Gabriel scored seven touchdowns for 937 yards across 10 games before sustaining an injury, Sanders threw seven touchdowns for 1,400 yards.

“You’ve got two young players that still have a long way to go in terms of development, and that’s part of the learning curve in the NFL,” Monken said about Sanders and Dillon.

But There's Still Some Hope For Shedeur Sanders

Recently, on Micah Parsons’ podcast, Myles Garrett said that Sanders has to earn the QB 1 role and he has one chance do so.

“We're gonna give him a shot to prove that he is the guy. We're not gonna give anyone that title until they go out there and earn it,” he said on The Edge with Micah Parsons.

Following this, experts pointed out that the team is unhappy with Sanders’ performances. The 24-year-old is part of an unimpressive offensive unit that has ranked in the 30th position.

Now, Sanders and Watson would be competing to start, but they are not the only ones who have to prove themselves. Monken has high expectations to meet and has to fix the shoddy offense for good.

But will these three succeed? We will find out soon enough. Let us know what you think!

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar