As the Todd Monken era starts for the Cleveland Browns, all eyes have been on the quarterback battle that has steadily emerged since the middle of last season. Rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders ultimately emerged as the final two quarterbacks locked into the battle for QB1 last season.
Gabriel got the nod early in the season, but an unfortunate injury to Gabriel left Sanders starting for the rest of the year. While Sanders seems to have emerged victorious in the QB battle against Gabriel during the sesaon, Deshaun Watson is nearing his return, making it a three-way battle for QB1. But there appears to be an odd man out: Dillon Gabriel
Mary Kay Cabot spoke about the impending battle for the starting QB spot and the potential for Gabriel to make his presence felt.
“It does seem like it’s a two-man race right now between Deshaun and Shedeur, but the Browns have not counted out Dillon Gabriel, and here is why I think he actually might make a little noise in this mini camp…He was thrown into a tough situation last season starting his first game in London then having to go to Pittsburgh and it was just a really, really difficult offense and not a very good supporting cast.”
The new wrinkle in the battle for QB1 has arisen with the pending return of Deshaun Watson. Watson built his reputation as an elite quarterback in his time with the Houston Texans. From 2018 to 2020, he was named a 3-time Pro Bowler and was the NFL passing yards leader in 2020. Watson was traded to the Browns in 2022 and signed a fully guaranteed 5-year, $230 million deal, at the time the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history.
But Watson has cycled on and off the field due to injuries and suspension for sexual assault allegations. Watson was out for the entirety of the 2025 season after getting surgery to repair his ruptured right Achilles tendon in January 2025.
Sanders played 8 games last season, throwing for 1,400 yards and 7 touchdowns with 10 interceptions on a 56.6% completion rate. At the Browns’ voluntary minicamp, Watson and Sanders received 1st-team snaps, with Monken saying he wanted both to get reps.
“He was first man up,” Monken said of Sanders Tuesday afternoon per Yahoo Sports. “The way it was going to turn out, Shedeur was going to get more reps, some of it in [seven on seven] some of it in [11 on 11]. Team periods were slowed down [and] set up in a way for us to get a look at all of them.”
He added, “The plan was to have Shedeur get a few more reps but have Deshaun and Shedeur both have reps with the ones.”
Gabriel didn’t see any reps on the 1st team on the 1st day of the minicamp. In comments obtained by Yahoo Sports, Monken pushed back on the insinuation that it is only a battle between Sanders and Watson.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a two-man race,” he said. “I would just say that at every position, there’s competition. Irrespective of the reps they get, which I’ve said before, everybody ought to be competing.”
As the Todd Monken era starts for the Cleveland Browns, all eyes have been on the quarterback battle that has steadily emerged since the middle of last season. Rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders ultimately emerged as the final two quarterbacks locked into the battle for QB1 last season.
