One of Todd Monken’s first responsibilities as the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns will be figuring out what to do with the team’s quarterback room.
Of course, there are second-year quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. Sanders showed some flashes throughout his turbulent rookie season, even ending up in the Pro Bowl. Gabriel, on the other hand, seemed to be a favorite of previous head coach Kevin Stefanski, and his future remains unclear.
Finally, there’s Deshaun Watson, entering the final year of the five-year, $230 million contract he signed in 2022. It will be interesting to see who ends up as the starting quarterback for the Browns heading into the 2026 season, and who Monken decides is the best of the bunch.
Browns’ Todd Monken ‘eager’ to work with Deshaun Watson
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Monken is “intrigued” at the prospect of working with Watson and the rest of the Browns quarterback room.
“Browns coach Todd Monken acknowledged on the day he was hired that he’s ‘intrigued’ by three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson, and that he’s just as excited to work with him as he is Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and anyone else the Browns acquire,” wrote Cabot.
“The two men have already communicated, and are eager to work together once the offseason program begins in April.”
Watson heads into the final year of his contract with an $80.7 million cap hit, thanks to years of restructures and reworking his fully guaranteed contract.
With that kind of money due to him, it makes sense that the Browns will at least try to give the former Pro Bowler a shot at earning the starting job, if he can stay healthy.
Over Watson’s Browns tenure, he’s appeared in only 19 of 68 possible games due to injury. An abysmal number considering what Cleveland gave up to get him.
We’ll have to wait and see if the former offensive coordinator, Monken, can get more out of Watson than Stefanski could.
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