BEREA — The presumptions were premature.
The quarterback competition rages on.
Coach Todd Monken said Monday that Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders remain locked in a close battle for the starting job, adding each will start one of the first two preseason games and a decision won’t be made until after that.
“As long as we’re still sharing reps, it’s a competition,” Monken said. “When I know what we’re going to be doing, you’ll know.”
Browns coach Todd Monken on the continuing QB competition. pic.twitter.com/oJXwy1Bfhx
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Speculation ran rampant Watson was going to be named the Week 1 starter after he surprisingly got all the first-team work Saturday. Monken sought to clarify the confusion from that day, when he said Sanders would take his normal turn with the No. 1 offense, only to give Watson all the reps later that afternoon.
“It really was Shedeur on Saturday took the ones in the walk(through), so I anticipated him being with the ones,” Monken said. “When I walked out, guys grabbed me and said, ‘hey, the last couple days we’ve been looking at it and Shedeur’s got a few more reps with the ones.’ That’s all it was.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, we’ll flip it and then next week we’ll go the other way.’ I sure as hell wasn’t thinking about coming back in here and telling all you guys that I was going to change my mind, because I really don’t have to. Being the head coach, I can kind of do that. Ultimately, Shedeur’s going to go today with the ones. Unless on the way out I change my mind, and then he won’t.”
Browns coach Todd Monken on changing QB reps Saturday. pic.twitter.com/qfK6QleFIS
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Sanders did take the first-team reps during the indoor practice, with Watson and Dillon Gabriel splitting the second-team snaps. The plan was for Watson to be with the ones Tuesday and Sanders again Wednesday.
Sanders threw it well Monday, but he and Watson had their two-minute drives at the end of practice stopped when Monken had seen too many pre-snap penalties.
But he talked before practice about the improvement he had seen from the quarterbacks.
“I’ve been impressed with both players and the way they’ve handled the back-and-forth of the reps,” Monken said. “And we’re trying as best we can to balance the reps so we give both of them an opportunity to showcase their skill set. It’s never going to be perfect and they’ve handled that great.
“Shedeur today was great. I wasn’t sure, maybe Saturday would’ve preferred to be with the ones, and I’d be (ticked) if he wasn’t. All of our guys should want to be with the ones, but they’ve been great. And I think they’ve both improved. I’ve always said about Shedeur, but even the last week or so, Deshaun has played better. He’s made better decisions. Their confidence grows with the success they have every day.”
Browns rookie WR Denzel Boston with another catch from Shedeur Sanders. pic.twitter.com/C6dgJsNFnc
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Monken said he hadn’t decided who will start Saturday in the preseason opener at Chicago, as he’s still working through whom to start vs. the Bears and then vs. the Bills on Aug. 22 at home. Watson and Sanders will split the first-team reps during the joint practice with the Bills on Aug. 20.
“They’re each going to start a game,” he said. “And then after those two games, then I think we’ll be closer to at least having a better idea.”
Monken said Saturday was the best offensive practice of the first 10 days and liked how Watson and Sanders performed.
“Our operation was better, our cadence was better, we got the defense to jump offsides a few times,” Monken said. “Those are all little pieces you keep trying to stack. I thought both of them played really well. After the first series that Deshaun went, Shedeur went in there, ripped three or four throws, was confident, had a good base underneath him and got the ball out. It was fun to watch, irrespective of the defense, just the decision-making.”
Watson has limited the interceptions after six in the first four days. His best practices were Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
“It’s a lot of things, taking more risks, poor decision, protection, and then he’s trying to move and make a throw,” Monken said of the early picks. “But that’s part of the learning process, learning from the throws and the decisions you make on an everyday basis.”
Browns Deshaun Watson to Tylan Wallace. pic.twitter.com/XR3py6kii6
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Running back Quinshon Judkins was asked if the highly publicized competition was a distraction for the rest of the team.
“Never. I would never say it’s a distraction just because we have a great head coach,” he said. “Coach Monken keeps us focused on the things that matter. And it goes back to team, that’s what’s most important.
“At the end of the day, we go out there and compete at practice and we have each other’s back. So we go in the quarterback room, each and every one of those guys, they support each other no matter who throws a pick or who throws a touchdown, they still act the same way. None of those guys change. So I think that’s what’s important. And I think it’s no distractions.”
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