Monken Chooses Browns, QB Battle Heats Up

0:00On April 2, Todd Monkin turned down a Giants gig to take the Cleveland Browns headcoaching job, passing on joining John Harball after Harball, left the Ravens following 18 seasons. The Ravens crushed it offensively under Monkin last year, leading the league with a franchise record 7,224 yards. Monkin was this close to New York, but Cleveland let him rebuild the staff from scratch, sealing the deal. Meanwhile, Harball grabbed Matt Nagy from the Chiefs tree for the Giants' offense, a scheme that fits their new guy, Jackson Dart, perfectly after his. Oh, miss days! Monkin scooped up a couple Ravens' assistants, like Banny Breyer as pass-game coordinator, keeping that Baltimore flavor alive in Cleveland. The real drama hits at quarterback, where Monkin staring down Shader Sanders, whose grinding daily in the building, Dishon Watson fresh off in an on, Achilles' rupture that sideline him, all last season, and Dylan Gabriel, who hasn't shown up yet.

1:00Sanders is already impressing with his work ethic, while Watson's only had one sit down so far. Monkin's playing it cool, saying it's way too early to judge. Comparing it to dating his wife for five years before marriage, it's a process. Repson practice would decide everything, not split evenly, so showing up early gives Sanders an edge before camp even starts. Monkin bet on this QB battle over a sure thing in New York, and with $45 million on the line for Watson alone, Cleveland's competition, is lopsided from jump, setting up a wild summer grind.