Todd Monken not ready to name starter at QB for Week 10

Published November 9, 2026 04:21 PM Shedeur Sanders has given Todd Monken something to think about. The Browns’ head coach told reporters in his Monday news conference that he’s not ready to name a starter at quarterback for the Week 10 matchup against the Texans. That came after Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that Deshaun Watson would be back in the saddle after missing Sunday’s game. “I really haven’t thought through it other than getting through this morning’s tape,” Monken said. “I just got done meeting with the guys. They’ll flush the game and then we’ll have a chance to meet offensively more [extensively] later today. We went through the tape, immediately had to break, go to personnel, then the team comes in, and we haven’t had a chance to circle back as an offensive staff.” Watson started the first eight games of the season for Cleveland, generating five game-winning drives for the team’s five wins. Sanders, who started after Watson missed the first two days of the practice week while in concussion protocol, completed 19-of-31 passes for 297 yards with two touchdowns and no picks against the Saints.“Well I’m awfully proud of him,” Monken said of Sanders. “It’s been 10 weeks since he had reps with the ones. I think it showed up, the reps that we gave him in camp.“I thought he battled. I thought he showed composure in the pocket, getting to his check-downs at times. He made plays with his feet in escaping. He made the scramble play to Jerry [Jeudy]. He made a big third-down conversion early and he made one right there in four-minute, right before the holding call that gave us a first down. So, that’s what you wanted to see.”Monken noted that philosophically, he doesn’t really think of a player losing a job due to injury.“It’s week to week,” Monken said. “A player doesn’t lose or win a job — I don’t know what that means. Each week, we put the best players on the field that give us a chance to win.”Monken added that Sanders’ play didn’t necessarily alter his thinking about whether or not Sanders could play at some point this season.“I was thrilled. I was happy for him,” Monken said. “Every player wants to go and play and play well. And there were moments [where] I didn’t coach well enough, he didn’t play well enough. But there were moments at the end of the game where he made plays, right? He got it in the players’ hands, did a really good job, was in command. So, I was really pleased for him. And I was hopeful he’d play well. I thought he had a great week of practice and there is no guarantee that will carry over. So I’m really happy for him.“Does it give me confidence? From what I saw in the fall, you bet it does. It gives me more and more confidence that what I saw in the fall, there’s something to build on — for sure.”We’ll see how that translates as the season continues. But the fact that Sanders played well enough to make it an open question does say something about his development.