Todd Monken Says Browns Have 2 Starting-Level QBs — Browns Qb Battle 2026
Todd Monken left the browns qb battle 2026 unresolved on Wednesday, saying Cleveland still has not named a starting quarterback and that the room includes two starting-level options. The Browns have been working through practice over the last few weeks without a definitive answer for the future of the position.
Monken Keeps Both Quarterbacks Alive
Monken did not narrow the race, and his comments kept the competition open. “I think both quarterbacks have played well enough where we haven’t really been in pads. We haven’t played any games yet,” he said.
He added, “Haven’t really got to that point yet.” Then came the clearest line of the day: “Every day I kind of lean one way or the other with quarterbacks.”
That is the friction inside Cleveland’s practice reps. The Browns are still evaluating without full-contact work, so the staff is weighing performance in a limited setting rather than settling the job on a finished sample. Monken’s description of “two starting level quarterbacks” puts both players in the same conversation for now.
Gabriel, Watson And Sanders
Dillon Gabriel opened last season as the starter, while Watson has reportedly been the offseason favorite and may have the inside track at least initially. Monken also met with and praised Sanders when he got the head coaching job in Cleveland, giving the quarterback room another layer of attention before a starter was named.
The competition has stayed unsettled even as the Browns moved through practice, and Wednesday’s comments did nothing to separate the options. Monken’s answer was not about one player seizing the job; it was about a staff still sorting through two quarterbacks he believes can start.
Jared Verse And Number 8
Another practice note added a separate complication to the roster picture. Jared Verse arrived at Browns practice and immediately donned number 8, which was held by Dillon Gabriel.
Both players will wear 8 at OTAs for now, but only one player can wear the number in the regular season. That leaves one small but real roster issue hanging alongside the bigger quarterback decision, with the Browns still sorting through both the depth chart and the details around it.
