Monken doesn't rule out Browns using rookie QB in offensive 'package' Week 1 at Jaguars

It wouldn't be surprising if the Cleveland Browns played multiple quarterbacks this season. In fact, they could even do that in Week 1. Browns head coach named Deshaun Watson the starter and Shedeur Sanders the backup for the team's Week 1 game at the Jacksonville Jaguars. But when asked Monday whether third-string QB Taylen Green also could be active, Monken suggested it was a possibility. "Could be," Monken said. "There could be a package where we have him." Monken also admitted that "three is a lot" when it comes to rostering quarterbacks. If the Browns wanted to use Green against the Jaguars but also have Sanders ready to replace Watson in case of injury or ineffectiveness, they'd have to make all three active and essentially take an active spot away from another player. They wouldn't be able to use the emergency third QB spot in that situation. Green, the Browns' sixth-round pick this April out of Arkansas, earned his spot on the roster after the team placed Dillon Gabriel on injured reserve with a back injury prior to roster cutdowns. At 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, Green is an athletically blessed QB with plus running ability. His NFL Scouting Combine workout was a pretty good snapshot of that rare athleticism. Green clocked a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, which was the fastest by a true quarterback in more than 20 years and also registered eye-opening numbers in the vertical jump (43 1/2 inches) and broad jump (11 feet, 2 inches). In 2025 for the Razorbacks, Green rushed 139 times for 777 yards (5.6-yard average) and eight scores. In four college seasons with Boise State and Arkansas, Green totaled 2,405 rush yards and 35 scores. Green's running ability was on display in the Browns' preseason finale at New England when he ran eight times for 66 yards (including a 30-yard gallop), also throwing for 27 yards on 5-of-7 passing. Monken called Green "a tremendous athlete" and "highly intelligent" after that game. "You saw it," Monken said. "There's a lot to work with there. We've just got to refine it." When naming Watson the starter on Aug. 24, Monken indicated that Sanders and Green would each split practice reps as the Browns' scout-team quarterbacks as a way of accelerating both of their developments. It was a dramatic increase in activity for Green, who routinely was the fourth QB option in training-camp drills and didn't see action in the first two preseason outings. Perhaps this is gamesmanship, giving the Jaguars another thing to think about. Or it could be a sign that Green has been progressing enough to potentially supplant Sanders at some point as the QB2. Either way, the Browns' season-long quarterback plans don't yet appear to be written in stone.