Shedeur Sanders #12 of the Cleveland Browns
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Shedeur Sanders #12 of the Cleveland Browns
One reason while several coaches, from John Harbaugh to Mike McDaniel, declined to seriously consider the head coaching job for the Cleveland Browns was that the team has, for so long, been in the midst of a quarterback crunch. Rookie Shedeur Sanders wound up with the job in the end last season, and while there were some encouraging signs from Sanders, he was middling at best–1,400 yards in eight games, 56.6% completion rate, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
That’s what the guy who did wind up taking the Browns job, new coach Todd Monken, has inherited. Importantly, Monken has not given a throaty endorsement of Sanders as the starter in 2026, but he is still the QB1, at least here in mid-February.
That could be dangerous ground, though, and Monken was warned on that approach by former Browns draft pick and Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
‘Shedeur Sanders Showed a Lot of Promise’
On “The Speakeasy” podcast with former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, Acho–who criticized Kevin Stefanski for not playing Sanders earlier in the 2025 season–said that Monken would be making a risky move by betting that Sanders is a starter in the NFL.
At the very least, the Browns should ensure there is real competition at the position.
“I think you have no choice. Shedeur Sanders, he showed a lot of promise. …” Acho said. “However, if you are Todd Monken, you can’t afford, for your sole coaching opportunity—probably in your life, you’re 59 years old and you got this job because you wrote an essay—you can’t afford for your sole coaching opportunity to be tethered to whether Shedeur Sanders will take the next step or not.
“If you are the Cleveland Browns, either through free agency or the draft, I believe you have to find some competition. Competition breeds excellence. So even if it’s not competition to supplant Shedeur, at least go get some competition to make sure that Shedeur is challenged. Make sure you’re going to get the best out of Shedeur.”
Browns, Todd Monken Could Turn to Deshaun Watson
Of course, signals from the Browns this offseason seem to indicate that the team will, in fact, have some competition in the quarterback room, even among players already on the roster. Monken is said to be interested in seeing what Deshaun Watson, the Browns’ erstwhile starter who is coming back from two Achilles tendon surgeries, has left in his tank.
Watson is on a $230 million fully guaranteed contract, and would certainly have been cut by the Browns if not for his paycheck.
Maybe Watson provides the competition. Either way, the Browns are still in trouble because there are two star quarterbacks in their division, and the Browns will need a remarkably efficient season from their quarterback if they are to compete.
Said Acho: “Here’s the question—at what point will Shedeur be, or will he ever be, good enough to compete against the super-humans that are Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow? Because so long as he can’t—or the Browns don’t have a quarterback that can compete against those superhumans—you don’t really have a chance.
“If you are going to tether yourself to Shedeur Sanders you better believe that at minimum he has some Sam Darnold 2025 in him. At minimum.”