Jori EpsteinSenior reporterWed, April 22, 2026 at 12:41 AM UTC·8 min readBEREA, Ohio — On the first day of Cleveland Browns voluntary minicamp, two quarterbacks received first-team snaps.
Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson each received first-team snaps during team drills during the first meaningful practice under new head coach Todd Monken. Dillon Gabriel did not receive first-team snaps.
That structure was intentional, Monken said, and a recommendation from quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian that Monken approved.
Sanders received first-team snaps initially in 11-on-11 drills.
“He was first man up,” Monken said Tuesday afternoon. “The way it was going to turn out, Shedeur was going to get more reps, some of it in [seven on seven] some of it in [11 on 11]. Team periods were slowed down [and] set up in a way for us to get a look at all of them.
“The plan was to have Shedeur get a few more reps but have Deshaun and Shedeur both have reps with the ones.”
Todd Monken said Browns intentionally structured practice for both Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson to get QB1 reps in team drills, with plan for Shedeur to get more reps pic.twitter.com/rJGwUPnw7Z
Monken said the distribution of first-team snaps will change throughout this week’s three-day voluntary minicamp. He pushed back on the characterization that Sanders and Watson are the two candidates with a chance to start.
“I wouldn't say it’s a two-man race,” Monken said. “I would just say that at every position, there’s competition. Irrespective of the reps they get, which I’ve said before, everybody ought to be competing.”
Monken praised Gabriel’s “professionalism” and “intelligence,” Gabriel saying he’s focused on controlling what he can control and running his own race.
The Browns selected Gabriel in the third round of last year’s NFL Draft and then selected Sanders in the fifth round. Cleveland acquired Watson in a trade from the Houston Texans in 2022. But since the Browns paid a handsome cost for Watson that included three first-round picks, Watson has sustained a shoulder injury and ACL tears that have sidelined him since October 2024. Between those injuries and his 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, Watson has missed 49 of 68 regular-season contests in his four years as a Brown.
Watson returned to practice in December after undergoing a second ACL repair in January 2025. Monken said he did not see rust from those injuries during Tuesday’s two-hour practice session.
“The ball’s coming out great,” Monken said. “I can’t get into his body to know how his body felt. But he moved around great and the ball came out great.”
Sanders, Watson and Gabriel began practice by cycling through footwork drills and throwing routes on air. Watson’s movement was fluid during transitions and handoffs, and he spoke to players on the side after some reps including advising a tryout receiver, Keith Kirkwood, after they shared the field during a second-team, 11-on-11 snap.
Sanders hit receiver Isaiah Bond in the flat during team drills on consecutive plays at one point.
The defense got a hand on a ball from each quarterback across seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills, twice securing interceptions and once a pass breakup.
Linebacker Quincy Williams dove for a pass breakup of Watson during a first-team snap on which Watson targeted Bond. The next play, Watson hit receiver Malachi Corley in traffic on an intermediate route.
Quincy Williams with an athletic PBU vs. Deshaun Watson pic.twitter.com/XRDXbS9zs1
Deshaun responds with this tight-window completion to Malachi Corley pic.twitter.com/CKOxHdlQ5A
Corley had more trouble on a later seven-on-seven deep ball down the right sideline from Sanders, Corley slowing briefly along his route before speeding up too late. Cornerback D’Angelo Ross intercepted the pass.