Todd Monken on past Deshaun Watson games: ‘I haven’t really looked’

The 2026-27 NFL season is right around the corner, which means Cleveland Browns fans are gearing up for a new era of football under head coach Todd Monken. After an extensive quarterback battle between veteran Deshaun Watson and 2025 fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders, the former Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator ultimately decided to name Watson the starter. Now, with the organization naming the quarterback for Week One, Monken and his staff must build the best plan for the 30-year-old ahead of his first regular season start since 2024. When asked about Watson's lack of explosive plays with the Browns on Monday, Monken told reporters on Monday that he hasn't examined the veteran's film in Cleveland. “I really, to be honest, haven’t looked at it," Monken claimed. "To be honest, only from afar. When people say, 'You had to look at it,' well, not really. I looked at it from afar when I was down the road, in crossover film or something, but I try to take everything at face value, what I see. It doesn’t matter what the player is, I think we owe that to our players, guys that are on the roster." Watson's woes in Cleveland Since arriving in Cleveland after signing a massive five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract back in 2022, it's safe to say Watson has failed to live up to the high expectations. During his four years with the struggling organization, Watson has played in 19 games and recorded 3,365 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The former three-time Pro Bowler would miss the entire 2025-26 season after suffering a season-ending Achilles tear midway through the 2024-25 regular season. Watson's injury eventually forced both Sanders and 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel to start for a majority of last season. But Monken's previous track record with mobile quarterbacks, like Ravens' Lamar Jackson, could point to the reasoning why he named Watson the starting quarterback ahead of Week One. In addition to saying he didn't watch Watson's previous film with the Browns, Monken told reporters he wants to go into every film evaluation "thinking every player we have is elite," and all they have to do is prove him right. "I want to go into it thinking every player we have is elite, and all they have to do is prove me right," Monken said. "That’s all they have to do. That’s what I’m going to go into it. They’re on an NFL roster, I expect them to play well, and I just want them to prove me right. So, I really haven’t looked at that, different staff, different system. We’ll let it play out. We’ll see where it goes starting a week from now.” Luckily for Monken, Watson does have some elite tape from his time with the Houston Texans. In 2020, the former 2017 first-round pick threw for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. However, the question now becomes whether or not Monken can soak up the rest of Watson's old ways in 2026. This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Todd Monken on past Deshaun Watson games: ‘I haven’t really looked’