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Insider Reveals How Browns Will Test QBs In Training Camp
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The Cleveland Browns are set to open training camp this coming Thursday, which is the reporting day for rookies. Veterans are not required to report until next Tuesday, July 28, but with an ongoing quarterback competition about to pick up again, it will be interesting to see if either Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders shows up early.
If they do, it will be very much worth watching how Todd Monken handles that, especially if it turns out to be only one of them. Running his first training camp as an NFL head coach, Monken surely can’t wait to get going.
Insider Zac Jackson of The Athletic revealed how the Browns will test the QBs in training camp, focusing on more intense practices than even a typically strenuous camp would provide.
“Probably, Monken will use the second week of camp to create multiple scrimmage scenarios that are as close to live-game action as possible. Quarterbacks are never open to live tackling in practice settings, but a team with a new offense and an ongoing quarterback competition needs as many chances in full-speed scenarios as possible, both for evaluation and developmental purposes,” Jackson wrote.
After everyone gets reacquainted and conditioning ramps up, those second-week scenarios will be just as important to the completely rebuilt offensive line as well. The cohesion between the line and the quarterback is vital to the success of any offense, and the Browns will be tested going up against their elite defense.
Sanders closed the gap enough with his improvement this spring to extend the QB battle into camp. Watson held the lead, and he is still considered the favorite to land the job, but the fact that it remains open has made the next month much more interesting.
Right away, it will be notable how practice reps are divided between the two QBs. Then, if that changes in any way, speculation will grow about what that means.
Those early weeks of workouts will set the stage for the preseason opener on Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Chicago Bears. If Cleveland’s starting quarterback is not decided by then, a joint practice against the Buffalo Bills in Berea on Aug. 20 will be almost as important as the preseason game that follows on Aug. 22.
The Browns will almost certainly have a decision made before the final preseason game on Aug. 27, against the New England Patriots, because Cleveland would not want to put its starting QB at risk before the season opener on Sept. 13 at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Mike Battaglino
Mike is a veteran journalist who has covered the NFL and MLB for almost three decades.