After months of speculation, Todd Monken named Deshaun Watson as his starting quarterback to open the season. But the Cleveland Browns’ QB drama seems to be far from over.
Shedeur Sanders will start the season as Watson’s backup. But rumors have created some uncertainty around the QB2 spot, with speculation that rookie Taylen Green could eventually leapfrog Sanders despite Cleveland currently listing Sanders as Watson’s backup.
Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot addressed this speculation in her latest “Hey, Mary Kay” mailbag.
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A reader asked Cabot directly whether there was any truth to the idea that Green could be QB2 with Sanders sitting out entirely. Cabot didn’t dismiss it outright, but she didn’t confirm that anything was imminent.
“Stranger things have happened,” she said. Cabot also acknowledged that head coach Todd Monken was genuinely excited on draft day about the possibilities Green presents.
“I know that Todd Monken was excited on draft day about the possibility of using the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Green, who runs a 4.36 in the 40, in wildcat packages and other special situations,” she said.
Then the Watson-Sanders quarterback battle dominated headlines all offseason, and Green’s role was pushed to the background. But according to Cabot, Green’s work in camp caught the coaching staff’s attention.
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“He worked so hard during camp and is so smart that Monken must be tempted to throw him into the fire and see if he can convert a fourth-and-1 or otherwise surprise the defense,” she observed.
.@Pchopz_‘s Browns week 1 hot take:
Taylen Green will be QB2. Shedeur Sanders will be inactive and the emergency QB3 😯.
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/sWdwFmsjeC
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) September 2, 2026
Cabot also touched on just how meticulous Green has been in learning the offense. She noted it was impressive hearing him talk about writing plays down repeatedly, over and over, until he simply couldn’t get them wrong anymore.
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That kind of preparation, she suggested, could be exactly what earns him snaps sooner than the coaching staff originally expected.
Cabot, however, urged some caution when looking ahead to Week 1. She suggested that completely leaving Sanders on the sidelines could be risky, especially given Watson’s extensive injury history.
ESPN Cleveland’s Zach Frydenlund first raised the possibility of Green leapfrogging Sanders and getting the nod against the Jaguars, and since then, the rumor has picked up steam.
So far, though, there hasn’t been any real indication that such a dramatic change is actually on the table.
Zac Jackson of The Athletic mentioned, “Green was clearly fourth in line through the summer, and the team’s plans for the rookie seemed to trend more toward preparing him to play in 2027 than 2026.”
Cleveland enters the season with four quarterbacks in the building: Watson, Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Green.
Watson is the confirmed starter, with Sanders the primary backup. Gabriel will open the year on injured reserve and won’t be eligible to return to practice until October, which has only intensified the competition for reps between Sanders and Green.
