Browns coach Todd Monken hasn't watched tape on Deshaun Watson's disastrous stretch with Cleveland

Monken says he wants to think 'every player we have is elite'

Sep 2, 2026 at 12:52 pm ET • 2 min read

The Cleveland Browns made the controversial decision to name Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback over Shedeur Sanders last week. Fans hoped the dawn of a new era was on the horizon with the hiring of Todd Monken, but they will instead have to watch Watson begin the season under center. 

Monken evaluated this quarterback battle with fresh eyes. In fact, the first-year head coach said that he didn't and still hasn't watched any film on Watson from his disastrous stint with Cleveland. 

"I really, to be honest, haven't looked at it," Monken said. "To be honest, only from afar. People say, 'Well, you had to look at it.' Well, not really. I looked at it from afar when I was down the road in crossover film or something, but I try to take everything at face value. What I see, right? It doesn't matter what the player is; I think we owe that to our players, guys that are on the roster. 

"I want to go into it thinking every player we have is elite. And all they have to do is prove me right. That's all they have to do. They are on an NFL roster, I expect them to play well, and I just want them to prove me right. So I haven't really looked at that. Different staff, different system. We'll let it play out. We'll see where it goes..."

Since the Browns' fateful trade with the Houston Texans back in 2022, Watson has statistically been one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. He ranks last in completion percentage, yards per attempt and TD-INT ratio over the last four years, and he has played in just 19 games over those four seasons. 

In Houston, Watson was a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback who led the NFL in passing yards in 2020. In Cleveland, he's been everything but that. It's been over 2,000 days since Watson's last 300-yard passing game. The retired Tom Brady has registered 14 300-yard passing games during that time.

Deshaun Watson's Browns career

Among 50 QBs with 500 passing attempts (CBS Sports Research)

Stat		Rank since 2022
EPA/dropback	-0.19	49th
Yards per dropback	4.9	49th
Passing yards per start	177.1	47th

Monken is giving Watson a final chance to resurrect his career. Is it possible? He has a completely new offensive line featuring five new starters and a new cast of weapons he hasn't played with before, such as running back Quinshon Judkins, tight Harold Fannin Jr. and rookie wideouts KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. Still, what Watson has shown over the past four years does not inspire optimism. 

Monken has said he doesn't anticipate the question of the Browns' starting quarterback being a week-to-week issue and praised Sanders for closing the gap on Watson through the preseason. The question is how long of a leash does Watson have?