Cleveland Browns continue to sit low in the preseason rankings

BEREA, OHIO - JULY 29: Head coach Todd Monken of the Cleveland Browns watches a drill during Cleveland Browns Training Camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on July 29, 2026 in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Cleveland Browns made it through Day 2 of training camp on Thursday under the watchful eye of visiting Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.

That led to far too many breathless questions from the media to head coach Todd Monken about what Sanders the elder thought about various things related to the Browns.

Fortunately, that did not distract from the important work at hand for Monken, which includes:

Figuring out who the starting quarterback will be from the equally poor choices of Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders. ( Best get comfy, Browns fans, because Monken is in no hurry .)

Determining which pieces of the rebuilt offensive line fit best, with plenty of combinations on the field in the early part of camp.

Keeping an eye on new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, who is adding some much-needed freshness to the defensive scheme, according to safety Grant Delpit.

This is all to be expected with a new head coach, a team filled with several first- and second-year players at key positions, and coming off a two-year run that produced just eight wins .

The offensive line will work itself out, and while there may be a few growing pains in the opening weeks of the season, Rutenberg’s defense should be fine. (Or at least no worse than the one that allowed Carson Wentz to drive 80 yards for a game-winning touchdown pass last season.)

It is still the Browns, of course, so everything begins and ends with the ongoing issue at quarterback, which explains in large part why Cleveland checks in at No. 27 in Josh Kendall’s latest rankings at The Athletic :

In exchange for a $230 million guaranteed contract, the Browns have gotten 19 games, and nine wins out of Watson. He’s back for the final year of his deal after missing 10 games in 2024 and all of 2025 due to a twice-torn Achilles. He and Shedeur Sanders will compete for the starting job under new coach Todd Monken. Oh, and Myles Garrett is gone, after being traded to the Rams.

Yes, Garrett is now with the Rams, but it is not as if Verse is the second coming of Nate Orchard, so the dropoff at the position may not be quite so impactful.

Unfortunately, there is not much to be done this year about the quarterback play, other than hope that Monken can figure out a way to get something approaching average play out of the Watson/Sanders combo.

The good news is that ranking is just one writer’s opinion, and being so low means there is nowhere to go but up!

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →