Todd Monken spoke on how Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson is looking to change his narrative.
The Cleveland Browns recently made the decision that Deshaun Watson would be their starting quarterback to open up the 2026 regular season instead of Shedeur Sanders. Todd Monken’s first major decision as the Browns head coach was met with mixed reactions from fans, some of whom were hoping the nod would go to the much younger Sanders.
Recently, Monken alluded to the negative PR surrounding Watson throughout his Browns stint and how the veteran is looking to work through that this year.
“I’ll keep most of what Deshaun and I talked about private, but the conversation was the way we make this go away is to play good football. Let’s move forward, work our rear end off and play winning football,” said Monken, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.
The majority of the bad vibes surrounding Watson stem from numerous allegations of sexual assault dating back a few years, the majority of which were settled out of court. The allegations led to a suspension from the NFL, which Watson served during the 2022 season, prior to going down with an Achilles tear in 2024 that kept him out for all of the 2025 campaign.
Watson has been up and down so far during training camp and the preseason in 2026, but the large amount of money that the Browns have tied to him compared to Sanders certainly could have played a role in the team’s decision to give him the starting job.
Of course, the Browns cycled through three starting quarterbacks last year, so it’s certainly not off the table that Sanders could end up regaining the job eventually.
The Browns’ season is set to kick off on Sept. 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Cleveland Browns recently made the decision that Deshaun Watson would be their starting quarterback to open up the 2026 regular season instead of Shedeur Sanders. Todd Monken’s first major decision as the Browns head coach was met with mixed reactions from fans, some of whom were hoping the nod would go to the much younger Sanders.
