The Opening Drive 8/5: Examining The QB Competition Timeline - The Ideal Scenario, Predictions and Critical Checkpoints
Every rep is valuable. When will the Browns name their starting quarterback and when they should?
The Browns are six practices into training camp, and the framework of the quarterback competition looks as it did on day one.
Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson continue alternating days with the first-team offense, then dropping to the second unit the following day. Dillon Gabriel continues to receive a handful of reps mixed into the rotation, but nothing about the structure of the competition has materially changed.
That raises two different questions:
When will Todd Monken make his decision?
And perhaps more importantly:
When should he?
The Timeline Now - Goal Posts Have Been Moved
When Monken was first hired, he suggested he’d ideally know who his starting quarterback was by the end of mandatory minicamp and heading into training camp.
Since then, the timeline has shifted.
The message became that everything the quarterbacks do is being evaluated. More recently, Monken said the real evaluation wouldn’t begin until the eight-day installation period of training camp was complete.
The Browns are nearly there.
With shells on Wednesday, pads Thursday, helmets Friday, and pads again Saturday, the installation portion of camp will essentially wrap up after Thursday’s practice. That makes late this week—and perhaps more likely next Monday after Sunday’s off day—the first real checkpoint to watch.
If there’s going to be a change in the distribution of reps, those are the dates that make the most sense.
But based on how structured this competition has been, it still feels unlikely.
No one has run away with the job, but one quarterback has clearly been better throwing the football.
Through six practices, Sanders has been more accurate, more consistent, and has looked more comfortable delivering the football than Watson.
That doesn’t automatically mean he’s winning the competition.
We’re not privy to every part of the evaluation process. Pre-snap operation, protections, communication, command of the offense, and procedural details all matter. There have even been rumblings that Watson is ahead in some of those areas.
Still, when the ball is snapped, Sanders has looked better.
The offense as a whole has struggled against the first-team defense, but that’s hardly unusual this early in camp. Defenses are almost always ahead of offenses this early in camp.
The question isn’t whether the offense has been great.
It’s whether either quarterback has separated himself.
From a throwing standpoint, Sanders has looked better, and Watson continues to struggle with his consistency and decision-making.
One thing that’s become obvious during camp is how deliberately Monken is handling competitions across the roster.
Spencer Fano and Dawand Jones have alternated first-team opportunities.
At right guard, KT Leveston was expected to rotate with Teven Jenkins before Jenkins’ absence forced Leveston into five consecutive practices with the starters.
The Browns have built a very structured evaluation process.
Quarterback is simply following that same blueprint.
The concern is how long you can continue rotating before it begins affecting everyone else.
Every day the quarterback battle remains unresolved is another day the starting offensive line isn’t building continuity with one quarterback.
It’s another day rookie receivers aren’t developing timing with the player they’ll likely open the season with.
It’s another day the offense delays developing its identity.
At some point, evaluating one position starts affecting the development of the other ten.
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The Ideal Timeline vs. The Actual Timeline
The Browns travel to Chicago next week for their first preseason game.
I expect we’re headed toward each quarterback getting a start during the first two preseason games, while the competition continues through the joint practices and the preseason game with Buffalo.
From my perspective, this is stretching the process longer than necessary.
That would leave essentially one preseason “dress rehearsal” week, and their week off before game week in preparation for opening the regular season in Jacksonville.
That’s not much time for an offense to fully settle around one quarterback.
If it were my decision, I’d name Sanders the starter as early as Monday.
Not because he’s been dominant.
He hasn’t.
Watson is showing nothing more than what we saw from him in 2024, and it’s fair to say Sanders gives you the best chance to win. It also makes sense, organizationally, to play the younger player who can still improve week over week while ensuring you learn what he has this season.
If the competition is close—as we’ve said from the beginning—the tie should go to the quarterback who still has hope of ascending and providing a solution at the game’s most important position.
For me, we are already at a point where Watson looks worse, and the coaching staff can say honestly that Sanders gives them the best chance to win while also checking the big-picture boxes. What are we waiting for?
How It Likely Plays Out
Monken said the players themselves will signal who the starter should be through trust, communication, confidence, and body language.
He’s also shown throughout camp that he values giving every competition a fair process.
Because of that, I think this battle extends into the preseason.
Each quarterback likely gets a start.
The joint practices with Buffalo could become one of the biggest evaluation points before a final decision.
Personally, I don’t think that’s the best way to manage the position because the ripple effects extend far beyond quarterback. The longer the decision takes, the longer it delays the offense from building chemistry, rhythm, and identity.
I’d rather see a decision made sooner, allowing one quarterback to spend the entire preseason developing with the first team.
But six practices into camp, the way Monken has handled this competition tells me we’re probably still a couple of weeks away.
Timeline Points to Watch
Friday/Saturday: Installation period concludes on Thursday. Do first-team reps begin shifting?
Monday: First practice after Sunday’s off day. This feels like a cleaner point to implement changes after the install period is complete.
Next week’s preseason preparation: Does one quarterback receive noticeably more work with the starters in preparation to start the first preseason game?
Bills Joint Practice: Joint practices are highly valued preparation opportunities. Is it so valuable that the Browns show their hand by playing one quarterback significantly more than the other?
The Browns have been very intentional about keeping the opportunities even throughout camp. The question is whether there is a point at which that structure starts costing them valuable time the offense needs to come together before Week 1.
UPDATE NOTE: Hours after I wrote this, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reported that Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson will each start one of the first two preseason games, with the quarterback leading the competition expected to start the third preseason game. That approach gives both players equal opportunities to work with the first-team offense in live game situations before the Browns make their decision.
While I wrote that I thought they would each get a start in the preseason, I thought we would get there more organically rather than Monken already conceding that the competition would still be going on. I think ruling out the possibility of naming a starter before that late in the preseason seems like a tough way to go through camp for everyone involved.
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