Browns HC Contradicts Statements on Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders

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Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken stressed this spring that there was a legitimate quarterback battle going on between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.

While there may have been a quarterback battle, it doesn't appear Monken was being completely honest about what he was seeing in the competition during OTAs and mandatory minicamp.

In May, Monken was asked if either Watson or Sanders was ahead in the competition. The first-year head coach of the Browns said "no" at the time.

On Monday, Monken named Watson as the starting quarterback, with Sanders as the backup.

When speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Monken admitted that it was "pretty obvious" during the early part of the quarterback competition that Watson was ahead.

"I know this, from the jump in the offseason, when he showed some things that I really liked, the way he’s wired — that’s when we made the decision to give him more reps," Monken said of Sanders, via Pro Football Talk. "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, there’s no difference there. We made that decision, and where he’s at today is a byproduct of that."

Those statements appear to contradict the narrative that was surrounding the quarterback room this spring. How honest of a quarterback competition the Browns had this spring and summer should be under question at this point.

It was pretty obvious this spring that the Browns' brass tried to play up Watson this spring. Ownership has every reason for Watson to start this season and succeed. The worst-case scenario would be for Watson to flop and play better somewhere else.

As for Sanders, Monken believes the second-year quarterback will have a chance to grow in his system.

“I’m excited about the long game for him," Monken said. "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 — 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.”

Those words should be taken with a grain of salt.

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