Todd Monken says he's convinced Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson can play 'winning football,' will continue competition in training camp and in pads

BEREA — The quarterback competition between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson is headed for August. How late in August remains to be seen.Coach Todd Monken confirmed Thursday at the conclusion of mandatory minicamp what he'd been expecting."We'll start off fall camp just like we've been doing. We'll alternate those guys," he said.Shedeur Sanders focused on personal development and building strong team rather than tight QB competitionMonken had hoped to have a front-runner for the starting job when training camp opens in late July so he could give that person the majority of the first-team repetitions to get ready for Week 1. He said the two candidates have made that impossible, calling it a positive."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," he said. "I'm convinced of it. And I'd say it if I didn't."I can't decide now because I think both have earned the opportunity to continue to compete once we put the pads on."Teams aren't allowed to practice in pads until after the first few days of training camp. That means the competition will take its next step in early August. The preseason opener is Aug. 15 in Chicago, and the Bills visit the next week for joint practices and a preseason game in Cleveland.The pads and the opponents are critical to see how the quarterbacks handle the pass rush. The offseason program doesn't permit contact, so it's difficult to gauge if the rush would've reached the quarterback.Forget 'big swing and miss,' Deshaun Watson says he's 100 percent healthy, grateful for chance to compete for starting job, hit home run"The beauty of what training camp will give you that OTAs and minicamp hasn't given you is more live bullets, frankly," quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian said. "And it's a little bit easier to make a faster evaluation when you have a defensive line that's coming at you full speed, when you really have to react to the full-speed aspect of the game."I would think it should declare itself pretty quickly. And obviously we got the preseason games and all that other stuff but, yeah, it allows you to evaluate faster."Sanders went 3-4 as the starter to finish his rookie season in 2025. He tended to hold the ball during his career at the University of Colorado, looking to extend the play so he could make something big happen. It remained an issue last year under coach Kevin Stefanski."He's being more decisive," Monken said. "Now, it's easy to say we're not in pads. It just feels like he's making quicker decisions. The ball's coming out of his hands, which he's gonna have to do. Not that he doesn't have playmaking ability, because he does, but his ability to process quicker and get the ball out of his hands and eliminate lost-yardage plays is going to be huge for us to be able to stack plays and score, which is ultimately the No. 1 thing here."Notes: Isaiah Bond adds 15 pounds of 'straight muscle' in offseason to diversify his gameMonken and coordinator Travis Switzer have complimented Sanders on his quicker footwork. That has a direct effect on playing on time."Rhythm and footwork," Bajakian said. "Every play, the keys to the pass game are timing and spacing. We hammer the quarterbacks on the appropriate footwork that corresponds to the timing and spacing of the concept."He said all the quarterbacks have been receptive to the footwork tweaks that come with a new coaching staff."It's been very refreshing," Bajakian said. "Deshaun's been playing a long time, for a lot of different coaches and from the start I said, 'How have you done this in the past?' on something we were working on. He says, 'Coach, I did this, but how do you want it done?' And that speaks volumes to what these guys are trying to accomplish. They're all in and they're all trying to get better in every way."The other key piece is when the pocket crumbles and Watson and Sanders look to escape. Quarterbacks aren't supposed to be touched in practice — they wear orange jerseys for a reason — but with pads and a live pass rush, it's easier to tell if they're able to get away and make something happen with their legs."Both do a great job with that," Bajakian said. "Deshaun looks great physically. What I'm seeing is a high-, high-level athlete on the field over the course of the last 12 practices. And so athletically, he looks great."As you look at Shedeur, the off-schedule plays that he made last year, maybe his measurables in the combine and coming out of pro days and all that other stuff, maybe they're not quite what elite athletes are considered. But I'll tell you what, if you just go back to the video from last year, and even his college video, you see an athlete that plays a lot faster than maybe the measurables indicate."The quarterback's mind must work at warp speed. Monken said he bases the responsibilities he gives the quarterback at the line of scrimmage on what they're capable and willing to handle."Some guys don't want that smoke, because when they take that control, they change a play or they change the protection, it falls on them," he said. "Now they're the ones that have to explain why they did what they did. Not everybody wants that. Our guys want that, which is cool. Not everybody wants to be that diligent and work at it to where when the moment comes up, they're capable at the line of scrimmage of getting this into a premium play. And all of our guys are capable of that, which makes it fun."The post Todd Monken says he's convinced Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson can play 'winning football,' will continue competition in training camp and in pads first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.