The Cleveland Browns are shifting out of preseason mode and beginning to prepare their remade offense for the Week 1 opener in Jacksonville.
In late August, new coach Todd Monken announced that Deshaun Watson would be the team’s starting quarterback after an offseason competition with Shedeur Sanders. With Watson having not played since 2024 and being signed only for this season, the team’s future depth chart at quarterback appears completely open — and the path seemed clear for Cleveland to keep four passers on its active roster.
The Browns did keep four in the building, but not on their initial 53-man roster, as Dillon Gabriel was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return after the season’s first four games.
Gabriel isn’t eligible to participate in practice until October, so Monken said Sanders and rookie Taylen Green will split the scout-team reps as the Browns begin working on Jacksonville’s schemes and tendencies.
Though nothing was guaranteed given that Green was clearly fourth in line through the summer and the team’s plans for the rookie seemed to trend more toward preparing him to play in 2027 than 2026, Green was always likely to make the regular-season roster but wasn’t a lock.
And though the Browns might eventually use Green’s athleticism in short-yardage or special packages, the focus for now will be on him continuing to develop, maximizing his scout-team reps and preparing to be the emergency game day quarterback.
First things first
Sanders is next in line. That doesn’t necessarily mean first-team practice reps like he got almost every other day through the spring and summer, but this Browns coaching staff views Sanders like the last one did: as a developmental quarterback with enough tools to eventually become a full-time player.
Sanders spent six weeks as Cleveland’s primary backup last season before starting the final seven games. But he never got practice reps with the No. 1 offense before he was pressed into game action. He’s now had an entire offseason to learn Monken’s scheme and work with various offensive personnel groups, so he should be more ready when called upon.
History says that’s more of a “when” than an “if.” The Browns have had at least three different starting quarterbacks in each of the last three seasons — and 12 times since the team returned to the NFL in 1999. The primary backup to begin the season has started at least one pre-November game for Cleveland in seven of the last 10 years.
Watson has played just 19 games over four seasons for the Browns. And should the season go south at some point, they would likely want to evaluate Sanders, who’s signed for three more years.
So while nothing is guaranteed, Sanders will be one play away from having his number called, and will have upcoming practice weeks to continue showing Monken he’s game-ready.
“I thought Shedeur did a lot of really good things (this summer),” Monken said. “I’m really proud of him and how far he’s come from the moment I got here to now. Very impressive.
“He plays with a lot of confidence … we look forward to Shedeur continuing to grow as a player.”
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As part of announcing his starting quarterback decision, Monken acknowledged that he always valued Watson’s seven previous seasons of NFL experience because the Browns will have almost a totally new offensive huddle when they play their first two games on the road.
In following hints he’d dropped earlier in training camp, Monken also said he long viewed Watson as being ahead from an operational standpoint and that Sanders was “making up ground” in those areas.
“You see quarterbacks go in there and right away play well, and you’ve seen others that need some time,” Monken said. “(For) some, it happens quicker than others, and some have further to go. … From the jump in the offseason, when (Sanders) showed some things that I really liked and (showed) the way he’s wired, that’s when we made the decision to give him more reps. That’s when we decided to make it a competition for Shedeur, and for us.
“That was the point of it all, to get where he’s at today. Because early on, in my opinion, it was pretty obvious that Deshaun was ahead — his experience, right? He should be. We made that decision, and where (Sanders is) today is a byproduct of that. I’m excited about the long game for him. There are certain things he has to continue to work on, and he’s going to continue to grow leaps and bounds because he’s a sponge. He takes it all in, he really does. So, I just think it’s a matter of time before we get a chance to see that.”
The rookie waits his turn
Green ran a 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. He waited until the sixth round of April’s draft to hear his name called because he’s more of a runner than a passer at this point.
Green got no competitive full-team reps in the spring and only a handful over the first three weeks of training camp. Monken has called Green “smart as heck” and said the only way a quarterback in his spot could make the roster would be by mastering the playbook and staying ready for the minimal live reps he received.
After Green threw a touchdown pass and then ran for another in a short stint in the Aug. 20 joint practice with the Buffalo Bills, he saw his first preseason action in the second half versus New England last week.
Mostly, though, Green spent his summer participating in meetings and individual drills. During full-team drills, he was mostly a spectator, often lining up behind the participating quarterback and walking himself through the plays.
Green showed off his speed in that game, and now each week in practice he’ll try to show his coaches he’s improving as a passer in his scout-team opportunities.
“Now I just continue to do what I’ve been doing,” Green said. “I didn’t get a lot in training camp, but I still got some mental reps and (would) just be behind Deshaun or Shedeur. I just continue to ask questions.
“I’m in a great quarterback room, and those guys have a lot of knowledge. So I continue to ask questions there, and I keep asking my coaches questions.”
