Shedeur Sanders didn’t lack confidence in himself before he became the Browns’ starting quarterback and his seven-game run in the role didn’t do anything to make him doubt himself.
Sanders threw for 1,400 yards and had seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 56.6 percent of his passes during his rookie season. Those numbers illustrate that Sanders had his ups and downs after being inserted into the lineup, but the ups were enough to convince him of his ability to do everything an NFL quarterback needs to do to operate at a high level.
“You can see it. It’s kind of like mastering how to get to that place all the time,” Sanders said on Up & Adams. “You have flashes. That’s the most thing I appreciate about this year is that I proved to myself, I’m able to dominate the league. But I’m able to take completions, I’m able to put all of that together, and definitely in games, we have flashes, but I know I’m capable of doing that. Now, to do it on a consistent basis, that’s what the goal is. But for me in this past season, that’s what proved to myself. No matter what happened, no matter anything that transpired, you are able to go out there and compete.”
The Browns’ level of confidence that Sanders can consistently play at that level remains to be seen. Head coach Todd Monken said on Tuesday that he’s excited about the chance to work with Sanders and that there was “an affection of Shedeur’s skill set and what we thought he could become” when he was coaching with the Ravens, but said the identity of the team’s 2026 starter is to be determined and the team’s offseason moves at quarterback will likely be telling about what direction they’ll ultimately follow at the position.
Browns Clips
The Browns want to keep Jim Schwartz as their defensive coordinator, which team owner Jimmy Haslam has made clear since firing former head coach Kevin Stefanski last month.
But with new head coach Todd Monken now in place, it’s still unclear whether Schwartz — who is still under contract with Cleveland — will be back.
Monken, Haslam, and General Manager Andrew Berry were all asked about Schwartz’s possible return on Tuesday. But led by Monken, all three noted that Schwartz’s status is a subject for another day.
Monken noted that he had talked with Schwartz, but didn’t divulge anything further about their discussion.
“First of all, I think Jim is an outstanding defensive coordinator — I think we all would agree with that,” Monken said. “But I think it’s a little inappropriate for me to comment about that at this time.”
Irrespective of Schwartz’s status, Monken noted that he does not plan on changing Cleveland’s defensive scheme.
“It’s been a bitch — I apologize — to go against this defense six times over the last three years. Schematically, and more importantly, the players, because ultimately it’s a players’ game,” Monken said.
“My anticipation is we’re not going to change the system,” Monken later added. "[It’s] very difficult to go against. I’m not planning on changing the system. We’re built for the system that they’re in currently. I’m not going to get into staffing, because that’s not at this time to get into that. But they can rest assured that we’re going to keep the same system. We’re still going to let them attack. We’re still going to let them play free. I can’t see any other way. They’re a big reason why I took this job — the defensive players.”
As Monken made clear, it’s the players who are his focus, not the defensive coordinator.
“I didn’t take this job because of Jim Schwartz,” Monken said. “I have a lot of respect for Jim Schwartz, as I would hope he has for me. But I took it because of the players that are here, the ownership, Andrew Berry, and the ability to build this roster from the ground up on the offensive side.
“So, and I said this to the other guys, I didn’t think I’d say it, but I’m gonna say it — when I was preparing for the Cleveland Browns, I wasn’t trying to chip Jim Schwartz, I was chipping Myles Garrett. And when I was sliding a protection to the outside backers or Grant Delpit, they were blitzing off the edge, I was sliding the protection to the players. And when I was worried about throwing to the right against Denzel Ward or Tyson Campbell to the left, that’s who I was worried about throwing at.”
The Browns held a press conference to introduce Todd Monken as their new head coach on Tuesday and team owner Jimmy Haslam spent some time discussing the process that led to Monken landing the job.
Several candidates reportedly pulled their name out of consideration for the post prior to Monken landing the job last month, but Haslam said that those decisions didn’t change the way that the franchise viewed Monken.
“You go through a search process — I think we started out with 20, 25 candidates,” Haslam said. “I think we interviewed nine, I might be off by one there. A search is a little bit of a roller coaster. Somebody drops out, somebody comes in. You get better references or better test results on someone. Or worse. I would say Todd was on the top of the list the entire time. I think our search lasted 20 days and I’d say he was leading the pack or in the front pack the entire time.”
It would be a surprise to hear any team owner say that their first choice for a head coach was anyone other than the person who wound up being hired, so we’re unlikely to know if the Browns had initially honed in on someone who ultimately chose a different path. It also won’t be something mentioned much if Monken can move the Browns in the right direction in 2026 and beyond, but more of the same in Cleveland won’t do much to make the job a more attractive one the next time the Browns need to make a change.
Will Shedeur Sanders be Cleveland’s starting quarterback in 2026?
It’s possible. But new Browns head coach Todd Monken was not ready to commit to that during his introductory press conference on Tuesday.
The first question to Monken was if Sanders would begin the offseason as Cleveland’s QB1 and what his approach to QB would be. But Monken didn’t divulge much about his plans for the position.
“Well, I think like any position on the team, that’s still to be determined,” Monken said. “Am I excited about Shedeur? Am I excited about all the quarterbacks in the room? Am I excited to coach this football team? Absolutely. I can’t wait for them to get back and for us to get started.”
With the Browns recently releasing a video on social media with Monken and Sanders sharing a moment that included Monken noting how the Ravens wanted to draft Sanders last year, the new head coach was also asked how he evaluated the quarterback coming out of Colorado. But Monken declined to talk about that, given his evaluation was for another team.
“Obviously, we had an affection — like a lot of teams — of Shedeur’s skill set and what we thought he could become,” Monken said. “But I really wouldn’t want to go in depth of another team’s process.”
What Monken did talk about was what he likes in a quarterback, focusing heavily on intangibles.
“Well, I’m just going to start with personality traits,” Monken said. “When you talk about who’s going to lead this team, who has the ‘it’ factor, who has those characteristics that the team wants to follow and believes in him because the ball’s in their hand every down? This game’s going to come down to two-minute situations, four-minute situations. You’ve got to be able to execute at a high level. And we’re just talking about some of the characteristics that you’re looking for, let alone some of the physical traits that we’ll get a chance to talk about later.”
The Browns have been in search of consistent, steady, productive quarterback play effectively since the team re-entered the league in 1999. Time will tell if Monken can develop Sanders or any other quarterback into that kind of player.
Word late last week was that Travis Switzer was considered the frontrunner to be the Browns’ offensive coordinator and it appears the race is over.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Browns will hire Switzer to fill that role on Todd Monken’s staff.
Switzer and Monken are both making the move from Baltimore to Cleveland. Monken was the offensive coordinator for the Ravens for the last three seasons while Switzer spent nine seasons with the club. He was the run game coordinator for the last two seasons and was a quality control assistant and analyst prior to moving to that position.
Switzer does not have any experience calling plays and Monken will likely reveal how the team will handle that at his introductory press conference this week.
Bill Belichick will not be announced as a first-ballot Hall of Famer come Thursday, according to an ESPN story published last week. It required at least 40 of 50 votes for the former Browns and Patriots head coach to earn induction.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft was in the same group of five finalists with Belichick, and no one within his camp has leaked his fate. So, he may . . . or may not have made it. Senior candidates L.C. Greenwood, Ken Anderson and Roger Craig are the other candidates in the category, and at least one of the five will earn Hall of Fame induction.
With Kraft sitting on the front row of Roger Goodell’s state-of-the-league news conference, the commissioner twice was asked a question about Belichick not being voted into Canton.
“Listen, I’m not even sure whether it’s true,” Goodell said, “because I don’t think the class has been announced. But at the end of the day, as I said before, Bill Belichick is the second-winningest coach in NFL football, six Super Bowls as a head coach, I think, and two as a defensive coordinator. That’s a Hall of Fame career, but there’s a decision-making process here, and there’s a timing issue. There are a lot of people who are deserving of this. So, I think it’s something that [the selection committee will have to decide], but there are a lot of people who want to be in that Hall of Fame, and Bill Belichick deserves to be in that Hall of Fame.”
Goodell is on the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors, but he made clear the board has no say in the voting rules or process.
“The Pro Football Hall of Fame is not in any way controlled by the NFL,” Goodell said. “We have no say in the voting process. We don’t participate in the voting process. . . . I think it’s really an important honor, and it’s something that should be done with a lot of clarity, a lot of understanding of what’s expected of those voters.
“Our board does nothing more in the voting [process] than approve the leaders of the media that participate. So, we are not involved in it.”
Goodell said he expects Belichick and Kraft both to become Hall of Famers, whether it’s this year or some other year.
“Bill Belichick’s record goes without saying,” Goodell said. “Same with the Patriots and Robert Kraft. They are spectacular. They’ve contributed so much to this game, and I believe they’ll be Hall of Famers.”
Jim Schwartz’s future is uncertain. He is still with the Browns but reportedly hoping to leave after the team selected Todd Monken over Schwartz for the head coaching job.
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward is among the players who want Schwartz to stay.
“I’m not sure what was true or was not true, so I’m not going to speculate,” Ward told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “I’m just going to wait to see how everything plays out and look forward to, hopefully we’re still keeping him.”
Schwartz, regarded as one of the top defensive coordinators in football, has two years remaining on his contract. The Browns ranked fourth in total defense and 14th in scoring, and Myles Garrett is the overwhelming favorite to win defensive player of the year and Carson Schwesinger is expected to take home defensive rookie of the year.
Garrett and Grant Delpit have also publicly supported Schwartz’s return.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for coach Schwartz,” Ward said, “and he’s an amazing coach, and I’m hoping he stays on the team.”
The Saints will be marching into Paris during the 2026 season.
The NFL officially announced that they will be taking part in the league’s first-ever game in France on Monday. The game will be played at the Stade de France, which is the largest stadium in the country.
“We are excited to be selected to play in the first regular season game to take place in France,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. “This moment is special not only because of the strong cultural connection between Louisiana and France, but also because we will compete before a growing Saints fan base in Paris.
The league did not announce the date of the game or the opponent. A report over the weekend said that the Saints will face the Browns on October 25.
Paris joins London, Melbourne, Rio De Janeiro, Madrid, and Munich as sites for international games during the 2026 season.
The Saints’ long-planned “home” game in Paris is coming in 2026.
French news outlet RMC Sport reports that the Browns will play the Saints on October 25 at Stade de France, the country’s largest stadium.
It will be the NFL’s first game in France, and a sellout crowd of about 80,000 fans is expected.
The NFL’s aggressive push at growing internationally shows no sign of slowing down. In addition to France, the NFL plans to play its first regular-season game in Australia in 2026, and the league has also played in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. Some American fans don’t like seeing their teams lose a home game, and many fans dislike the early morning Sunday kickoffs to accommodate European time zones. But the league’s decision-makers have made clear that they think there’s money to be made in other countries, and that’s the bottom line.
The Saints have been saying for years that they’re eager to play in the NFL’s first game in France. And now it’s on the schedule.
Mike Bajakian is following Todd Monken to the Browns.
The team is hiring Bajakian as its quarterbacks coach, according to multiple reports.
Bajakian became Michigan State’s quarterbacks coach on Dec. 27 but will now leave for Cleveland.
He left the University of Tennessee as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2015 to work for the Bucs as their offensive coordinator. Monken was the Bucs’ offensive coordinator from 2016-18, overlapping with Bajakian.
Bajakian returned to college coaching in 2019 and has been there since, serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UMass in 2025.
