\u201cIf you come in here and do the same thing that Kevin Stefanski did, how can you expect A to win over the fan base, and how can you expect B to get good results?\u201d Acho added.<\/p>\n
What makes Monken\u2019s non-committal stance about Sanders\u2019 role even more confusing is his history with the young quarterback. Back in his days in Baltimore, he actually wanted to draft Sanders, impressed by \u201cShedeur\u2019s skillset\u201d and how he could have been developed. But since Sanders wasn\u2019t ready to sit behind Lamar Jackson, the Ravens moved on from him.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, the head coach told Sanders that he was \u201cglad it all worked out\u201d when they finally teamed up. Somehow, Monken\u2019s preferences changed, or perhaps it was the same. He planned to develop Sanders in Baltimore behind Jackson, not hand over the team to him in his first year.<\/p>\n
During his introductory press conference, Monken leaned heavily on the \u201cit\u201d factor rather than just arm talent that he wants in the starting quarterback.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you talk about who\u2019s going to lead this team, who has the \u2018it\u2019 factor, who has those characteristics that the team wants to follow and believes in him because the ball\u2019s in their hand every down?\u201d he described. \u201cThis game\u2019s going to come down to two-minute situations, four-minute situations. You\u2019ve got to be able to execute at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Browns have been searching for that steady, productive presence since 1999, and the pressure is now on Monken to prove he\u2019s in the right direction with the quarterback room. Whether the job goes to Sanders, Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel, or even an outside hire, the stakes are clear.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the quarterback depth chart isn\u2019t the only area where Monken appears to be mirroring the former head coach, Stefanski. Similar to him, Monken will also be calling the plays in 2026. But it\u2019s more of a continuation than drawing inspiration from somewhere.<\/p>\n
Monken used to handle the playcalling during his time with the Ravens; that\u2019s what kept them among the league\u2019s top offenses. If he goes with Sanders as a starter, he can directly tailor the scheme to Sanders\u2019 development, adjusting in real-time to what the young passer sees on the field by calling the plays.<\/p>\n
While of course Sanders is no Jackson, the Monken-led offense does bring promise that the Browns will function at a higher level than the disjointed unit they\u2019ve been for some time.<\/p>\n
Shedeur Sanders is ready for the challenge<\/p>\n
Amid the ongoing criticism of Monken\u2019s indecisiveness regarding the starting quarterback role, his young quarterback has surprisingly shown maturity. Sanders\u2019s rookie year was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. He certainly showed promise, such as in Week 14 against the Titans when he had a 300-yard performance. But he crumbled brutally, like his three-interception and 177-yard performance against the Bears.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
In light of those, the 23-year-old knows that he needs to earn the starting role. Every preseason snap in 2026 will be an evaluation of his career trajectory, and he\u2019s ready for the challenge.<\/p>\n
![\"CLEVELAND,](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cf7088e69b5ca4297a2ba2a2c69f158d.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
CLEVELAND, OH \u2013 DECEMBER 21: Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders 12 looks over the defense during the third quarter of the National Football League game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns on December 21, 2025, at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, OH. Photo by Frank Jansky\/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA DEC 21 Bills at Browns EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon251221176<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s expected,\u201d Sanders told Kay Adams. \u201cI think each and every day I have to prove to everybody and to myself, also.\u201d<\/p>\n
This way, he\u2019s setting and achieving incremental goals with the belief that those small victories will eventually compound into long-term success. For the position, he plans to \u201cfocus more in-depth on everything.\u201d Perhaps he\u2019s everything Monken is looking for. He is prepared to earn the job all over again, even as the organizational structure around him begins to shift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Browns fans, the Todd Monken era is already feeling like a frustrating case of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. While…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2054],"tags":[184,86,53,85,54,2337,563,1033,1245,7,28684,8591,895,122,6,4779,17,582,23813],"class_list":["post-730111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cleveland-browns","tag-baltimore","tag-browns","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-clevelandbrowns","tag-deshaun-watson","tag-dillon-gabriel","tag-emmanuel-acho","tag-football","tag-huntington-bank","tag-kevin-stefanski","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-national-football-league","tag-nfl","tag-oh","tag-shedeur-sanders","tag-the-browns","tag-todd-monken"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116015400736626356","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}