Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken is bringing an old-school approach to his very first NFL roster, specifically at the quarterback position.
Solving the quarterback position is a perpetual issue in Cleveland and will, unfortunately, continue to be. Until someone can wave a magic wand and a top-tier quarterback walks through the front doors in Berea, Cleveland will continue to be in limbo at the position.
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For the 2026 season and Todd Monken’s first time as an NFL coach, he is going to solve it in a very old-school way. Throughout the past week, he has mentioned it several times on different media platforms that this year’s “quarterback competition” is going to be nothing like we are used to. There isn’t a possible way to give even reps, so he is going to split it between a starter and a backup and not wait three weeks into camp to figure out who is who. In Monken’s perfect world, the players will have solved the competition before fall camp even starts.
A novel thought.
Now, how will he decide who the guy is? Whoever gets the early lead at the position is going to have to earn it through work.
Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken chats with reporters after his introductory press conference at the Cleveland Browns training facility, Feb. 3, 2026, in Berea, Ohio.
One fascinating trend in Monken’s messaging is that he has mentioned on several occasions and on different mediums who has been in the building and who hasn’t. It’s at the point that he is absolutely making a statement with what he is saying. His noticing that Shedeur Sanders has been in the building nearly every day while Deshaun Watson has been sparingly and Dillon Gabriel hasn’t been seen may not be everything, but it is definitely something.
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When a new coach comes in, every player gets a fresh and clean slate. That means that all of the negativity they may have had with the prior regime is gone, but so is all of the goodwill. There is only one chance to make a good first impression, and being in front of Todd Monken in Cleveland is obviously important to him.
Certainly, it is not the only part of the evaluation, but it is a part of it. Just because Sanders is there every day doesn’t mean his interception problems are going to magically disappear. But he is going to earn himself a little bit of grace when camp kicks into gear.
Monken is an old school coach who is going to approach his first job in an old school. Do you want to compete for a job? Great, you’d better be in person. He is noticing who is and who is not.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns HC Todd Monken taking an old school approach to QB battle