BEREA, Ohio — After coming up just short of an overtime win against the New Orleans Saints, there were questions externally about whether Shedeur Sanders would be in consideration to remain in the starting position or if, with Deshaun Watson cleared from concussion protocol, the pecking order would return to Watson at QB1.
Head coach Todd Monken said on Monday, though, that he wasn't ready to announce that decision.
"I really haven't thought through it other than getting through this morning's tape. 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 a little bit later today. We went through the tape, immediately had to break, go with personnel, then the team comes in and we haven't had a chance to circle back as an offensive staff," Monken said.
WATCH PREVIOUS: Todd Monken praises Shedeur Sanders despite OT loss
Watson has started every game this season aside from Sunday's after being named QB1 near the end of training camp, but a head injury prevented him from playing Sunday against the Saints.
Watson took a hit the week prior against the Steelers and missed a few plays while he was evaluated. He was cleared initially, returned to the field, and finished the game, but the next evening reported concussion symptoms and was placed in the NFL concussion protocol.
With Watson missing two days of practice and being limited on the third day, the Browns named Sanders their starting quarterback for the Saints game with Watson questionable and still waiting to be cleared. On Saturday, Watson cleared protocol, but he was still inactive on Sunday as a precaution and with the other quarterbacks in the room having had the week of work preparing for the Saints.
"He hadn't really taken any of the reps. I know we did that with Tytus [Howard] the week before, but I think it's different with a right tackle. That's my opinion in that, he got no throws with our skill. The only thing he would have gotten was off to the side, and the only time he could have taken team reps would have been Saturday, and you're playing on the road, going to be loud. The high priority was an operation, which I think Shedeur did an elite job of," Monken said. "We kind of made that decision. He wasn't even on the field for the first three days of practice. So we just ultimately made that decision and to maybe keep Deshaun out of the fray. Should he go in? Is he really completely cleared? He was cleared, but the bottom line was, didn't practice, quarterback, had been through concussion, and we just felt like the best thing was, at that moment, without all the reps to go with Dillon [Gabriel] as our backup."
Sanders, who made his first start of the season, had a slow start against the Saints but put together two game-tying drives in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime, and then led the offense into position to win in overtime before a failed two-point conversion attempt.
In the outing, Sanders threw 19-for-31 for 297 yards and two touchdowns. While he was sacked five times, he didn't turn the ball over, and after the game, Monken expressed his pride in Sanders' efforts.
"I was thrilled. I was happy for him. Every player wants to go and play and play well. And there were moments I didn't coach well enough and he didn't play well enough. But there were moments at the end of the game where he made plays. He got it in the players' hands, did a really good job. He was in command. So I was really pleased for him, and I was hopeful he'd play well," Monken said on Monday. "I thought he had a great week of practice, and there is no guarantee that that will carry over. So I'm really happy for him. And does it give me confidence from what I saw in the fall? Sure it does. You bet it does. It gives me more and more confidence at what I saw in the fall that there's something to build on, for sure."
As the Browns begin a new week of work for their upcoming game against the Texans at home, Monken said he might not have a decision on Tuesday either. The NFL trade deadline is at 4 p.m. Tuesday, with the next practice for the team on Wednesday.
