New Browns regime set to repeat preseason quarterback battle and the mistakes of the past

If this feels familiar, that’s because it is.

The Cleveland Browns are ushering in a new era under head coach Todd Monken, yet the mood in Berea carries the same uneasy undertone that has haunted the franchise for years.

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A coaching change and roster tweaks were supposed to signal a reset. Instead, Cleveland appears stuck in its most recognizable pattern: a crowded quarterback room, no clear-cut answer, and hope stretched thin.

Reports indicate the Browns are heading toward a three-way, possibly four-way, training camp competition featuring $230 million question mark Deshaun Watson alongside second-year passers Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.

Watson remains the unavoidable centerpiece of the conversation.

After missing the entire 2025 season with a second Achilles tear, he’s again being presented as a viable starter. Monken has publicly expressed intrigue about Watson’s upside, but for a fan base that has seen just 19 starts and a 9–10 record across four seasons, curiosity has largely given way to fatigue.

Keeping Watson in contention isn’t simply about competition — it’s about justification.

The Browns invested three first-round picks and unprecedented guaranteed money in him. Moving on cleanly was never going to be simple. But continuing to circle back risks prolonging the very uncertainty the organization claims it wants to eliminate.

The youth movement doesn’t feel settled, either.

Sanders stepped in late last season after Gabriel faltered and suffered a concussion, flashing promise but not yet claiming ownership of the job.

Rather than anoint him and allow him to build rhythm with a reshaped offensive line and dynamic runner Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland appears intent on maintaining internal pressure.

As Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com has noted, Monken may value that tension, believing ambiguity fuels urgency.

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“It remains to be seen if he’d want to conduct an open competition in camp or name his QB1 heading in and give him most of the starting reps,” Cabot said.

“At this point, Sanders has a chance to win the job, but Monken is also intrigued by Watson and curious to see what he might have left. I do think they like the idea of keeping their QBs hungry to win the job.”

The problem is that in Cleveland, ambiguity has historically produced instability.

Gabriel’s situation only adds to the turbulence. A surprising third-round selection just a year ago, he’s already being floated in trade chatter. If the Browns move him this quickly, it would represent yet another short-lived investment at the game’s most important position.

The expectation was that Monken would bring offensive definition.

Instead, there are whispers about adding yet another veteran, names like Malik Willis or Mac Jones have surfaced, further crowding a room that already lacks clarity.

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The approach feels less like a plan and more like a volume strategy: accumulate options and hope one separates.

But NFL history, and especially Browns history, suggests otherwise.

When the quarterback picture stays blurry, the season usually follows.

Training camp in Berea will surely generate headlines and highlight-reel throws. Yet for a franchise searching for long-term stability, this setup feels less like a bold new chapter and more like a sequel no one asked for.

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