The Browns are just about five weeks away from players reporting back to CrossCountry Mortgage Campus for the beginning of training camp. To prepare for training camp, associate editor Kelsey Russo is putting together a preview for each position on the roster. To kick things off, let's first look at the quarterbacks.
The Quarterbacks:
Dillon Gabriel
Taylen Green
Shedeur Sanders
Deshaun Watson
What We Know: The Browns are in the midst of another quarterback competition this offseason, with a majority of the first-team reps in OTAs and minicamp taken by Sanders and Watson during the offseason program.
The competition first began at the start of the nine-week offseason program, when Gabriel, Sanders and Watson returned to CrossCountry Mortgage Campus for the first phase of the program. The Browns then added a fourth quarterback with the addition of Green in the draft to round out the room.
As each phase has progressed, the competition has continued as the coaching staff could begin working on the field with the quarterbacks in addition to the meeting rooms, capping off the offseason program with a three-day minicamp. The Browns utilized the two-spot method in certain periods of OTAs to create reps for each quarterback, and mirrored certain drills with two quarterbacks throwing simultaneously.
During OTAs and minicamp, Sanders and Watson split the days of reps with the first team in 11-on-11 periods. Then during minicamp, they each had one day where they took all the reps with the first team and then closed out camp by splitting the first-team reps on the final day.
We also know that both Sanders and Watson have impressed the coaching staff during the offseason program in different ways.
Sanders also went through a quarterback competition during his rookie season, where he moved into the backup quarterback role when Gabriel became the starting quarterback in Week 5. Sanders then earned the starting job in Week 12, and played in eight total games with seven starts, completing 120 passes for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. As Sanders competes in his second competition, quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian said Sanders' overall growth in his development heading in his second season has stood out over the course of the offseason program.
"I'd say the past nine weeks, he's done a great job of defining his footwork, playing with a base, learning the offense, working his butt off to really master his craft, and it's been fun to watch," Bajakian said. "He's done a really good job. He's getting through progressions and getting through progressions faster, and his feet are matching that mindset."
Watson is returning to the field for the first time since he first ruptured his Achilles tendon in Week 7 of the 2024 season and missed the remainder of the season. He then re-ruptured the tendon and underwent another surgery in January 2025, missing the entirety of the 2025 season. Bajakian noted how Watson used the offseason program to master the procedure at the line of scrimmage with the different checks, motions and progressions.
"So, the biggest thing for him was being able to translate what we're doing to something he's done in the past," Bajakian said. "He's an extremely fast processor, very smart guy, he's been working his butt off. The amount of preparation he put in before we even were able to get our hands on him, in phase one, he came in and we started talking about schemes and concepts and techniques, and he would refer back to the Baltimore video and refer to things that Lamar (Jackson) was doing. It was obvious to us that before we had even got him on campus here, that he had done a lot of work of video work and things like that are pretty cool."
The Biggest Question: Who will be the starter for Week 1 of the 2026 season? The decision on who will earn the starting job is still to be determined, as the competition will extend into training camp. Head coach Todd Monken said during mandatory minicamp that both Sanders and Watson have earned the opportunity to continue competing throughout training camp before a decision is made.
The other underlying question is what will be the factor that separates the two quarterbacks?
"As much as I'd love to make that decision, either by someone separating themselves upwards or downwards either way, which has not occurred," Monken said on June 9. "And we haven't even gotten to practicing against an opponent, putting the pads on, having a controlled scrimmage or playing preseason games."
Those two main questions will shape the conversation surrounding the quarterbacks during training camp, as ultimately a decision will be made for the starting quarterback ahead of Week 1 of the 2026 season.
Says It All: "It would feel different if I didn't feel like their progression hadn't gotten to this point where I think they both can start and play winning football. I'm convinced of it. And I'd say it if I didn't. I mean, I can't decide now because I think both have earned the opportunity to continue to compete once we put the pads on." – Monken
How many were kept on the initial 52-man roster in 2025: 3
