The Cleveland Browns wrapped up their mandatory minicamp without a starting quarterback and without any indication that head coach Todd Monken is in a hurry to decide. So while Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson continue splitting first-team reps and Todd Monken lets the uncertainty linger, former Browns linebacker Emmanuel Acho was quick to call out the flaw in this strategy.

“Here’s my point of tension, though. Stop giving him reps,” Acho said on the Speakeasy podcast. “If that’s the case. And emphasis on ‘if that’s the case’ before all these Shedeur fans come killing me. If Shedeur is not going to start Week 1, then stop wasting first-team reps on him. If Deshaun’s not gonna start Week 1, then stop wasting first-team reps on him.

“I truly do not care who starts Week 1. Obviously, the Browns drafted me; they gave me my NFL opportunity. Forever indebted and forever a Browns fan. But the Browns do not have the luxury of wasting reps because respectfully, neither quarterback at this junction in time is good enough to be wasting the reps.”

Coach Monken has taken a balanced approach in his QB evaluation at the mandatory minicamps. Day 1 had Shedeur Sanders throwing with the first team. Day 2 belonged to Watson while Sanders worked with the second team. On Day 3, Monken split the reps between Shedeur and Watson once again. After everything, when Coach Monken was asked who gets the first-team reps in training camp, his answer hadn’t changed.

“We’ll alternate those guys,” he said.

Throughout the offseason (the voluntary workouts & mandatory camp), Watson has gone 90-of-133 for 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. Sanders, meanwhile, has gone 79-of-113, five touchdowns, and three interceptions. Watson’s touchdown rate is nearly double, but Sanders has built the momentum for himself.

On Day 1 of minicamp, Sanders hit several deep passes to WRs Denzel Boston and Isiah Bond for touchdowns, and on Day 2, he connected with TEs Brenden Bates and Blake Whiteheart. By the end of the week, the split reps felt like a real competition, and Monken saw great improvement in Shedeur.

Watson, meanwhile, has just had his best offseason since tearing his Achilles in 2024. He’s back on the field, moving clear, and throwing with authority. The Browns had given him a $230 million, five-year deal in 2022, and only got 19 starts to show for it. This is the last year of that contract, and the organization needs something back.

All of this put together complicates Monken’s decision a lot. But Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot believes the minicamps have helped make the strongest case for Shedeur Sanders.

“[Shedeur] got the Browns out of bad situations and into good ones, and come bolting up the steep learning curve,” Cabot wrote. ‘Over the last two weeks, the messaging around Sanders changed drastically, and a paradigm shift had taken place in the competition: suddenly, he had caught Watson from behind to make it a tight race heading into camp, and even seized the momentum during mandatory minicamp last week.”

Todd Monken says he wants a starter named before camp if possible, but the rep splits from minicamp suggest that timeline is under pressure. Last season’s indecision and the subsequent quarterback shuffle are still fresh in the Dawg Pound’s minds. Maybe waiting it out to see which quarterback gives the Browns the most stability is the best plan, and Monken’s already following it. Whatever the case, the coach has already told everyone where things stand right now:

“I can’t decide now because I think both have earned the opportunity to continue to compete once we put the pads on.”