A rundown of the Cleveland Browns' mandatory minicamp highlights, including veteran guard Joel Bitonio's exit after 12 seasons, the ongoing quarterback competition between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, Todd Monken's coaching decisions, and various roster moves that reshaped the depth chart.
I sat down this morning looking for the Big Grand Unified Theory of the Browns’ first day of mandatory minicamp and, shockingly, the universe did not provide one.
Rude, frankly. Instead, yesterday was a pile of important little Browns things — some sentimental, some practical, some terrifying if you stare at them too long — which means we’re doing what old webdorks do when the football gods hand us a junk drawer. Namely, I’m falling back to a tried-and-true “THIS AND THAT” column and pretending that was the plan all along.
Mandatory minicamp is not training camp, and training camp is not September, and September is not January — I have learned these things after being smacked in the face with a media guide for several decades — but Tuesday still mattered. Joel Bitonio officially moved from cornerstone to esteemed alumnus. Todd Monken declined to end the quarterback competition. Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson both had moments.
Jared Verse got into team drills. KC Concepcion signed. A few guys watched practice instead of participating. The offensive line got juggled.
You know, normal Browns stuff. A Hallmark movie, except everybody has an ankle question and the dog is barking at a depth chart. Let’s start with the part that deserves more than a bullet point, even in a column built out of bullet points.after 12 seasons with the Browns.
He was a 2014 second-round pick — No. 35 overall — and one of the few players from the sludge years who made you feel like there was still something professional happening on Sundays. It should be noted that Bitonio made seven Pro Bowls, tying him with Myles Garrett for fourth-most in franchise history, and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021 and 2022. The full accounting is 12 seasons, 178 games, and seven Pro Bowls. That’s not a career.
That’s a civic monument with shoulder pads. Bitonio said it better than any of us could.
“I learned what an honor and privilege it is to be able to wear that orange helmet and what this team means to the fans,” he said,that “there was never a point where I could envision myself in a different uniform,” which is about as close as modern professional sports gets to poetry without an agent asking for 3%. I still remember Bitonio arriving in 2014 — back when we were all pretending the Browns were one clever draft away from stability, because denial is a family business around here.
He became the kind of guy you stopped worrying about, and if you’ve followed this team for more than eight minutes, you know how rare that is. We worried about quarterbacks, coaches, owners, jerseys, stadiums, kickers, wind patterns, lake-effect snow, and whether a clipboard holder could identify a blitz. We did not worry about Joel Bitonio.
THAT: MONKEN IS NOT READY TO NAME QB1 Todd Monken wanted a clearer picture of the quarterback position by the end of the offseason program. He did not get one. So the Browns’ quarterback competition between, because of course it will. This franchise never misses an opportunity to add another hallway to the quarterback maze.
It’s sort of like that “Backrooms” movie if the climax was achieving a 5-12 record.
“I really don’t know. I’m not going to name a No. 1 ... chances are, I will not,” Monken said Tuesday, via Pro Football Talk.
“Now, once we get to the fall, we’ll have to dissect the reps how we see fit. I just don’t see it after the way Shedeur’s played and Deshaun’s played, they’ve both played well enough to earn the right to compete to start. ”in team drills Tuesday and hit rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston and wide receiver Isaiah Bond for deep touchdowns in 11-on-11 work.
Watson worked with the second team in 11-on-11, took first- and second-team reps in 7-on-7, hit Tylan Wallace for a deep touchdown, and found Luke Floriea along the sideline during a two-minute drill that turned into a score. Monken’s summary was cautiously positive: Sanders “did a nice job,” Watson “did some good things,” and both “functioned at a high level.
” He also noted a couple of pre-snap issues, because football coaches are legally required to leave at least one vegetable on the plate. The plan, per the team site, is for Watson to get first-team reps on the second day of minicamp, with Sanders and Watson splitting first-team reps to close the week. My lame-ass read: Sanders wins a tie. He’s younger and has a contract friendly to the team for the next three years.
Plus, he’s not Deshaun Watson. The likelihood of this race being “too close to call” means the Browns should call it for Sanders unless Watson blows him away early in Training camp. I still maintain that Watson needs to crush Sanders to win the job, given Sanders’ youth and need for a 2026 evaluation, along with the number of chances Watson has already blown. , completing their 2026 draft class signings.
Per Pro Football Talk, Concepcion — the No. 24 overall pick — signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $20 million deal. That matters because the Browns need Concepcion to be more than a shiny April toy. PFT cited his 2025 production at Texas A&M: 61 catches, 919 yards, nine touchdowns, plus 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and two punt-return touchdowns while averaging 18.2 yards on 25 returns. Translation: the kid has juice.
Actual juice. Not “we saw him run around cones in shorts and now I’m buying a jersey” juice, but real multi-phase football juice.. He was acquired in the Myles Garrett trade, which means every Verse rep will be judged by the impossible emotional math of replacing an inevitable Hall of Fame pass rusher.
That is not fair to Verse, but fairness and Browns discourse broke up years ago and are seeing other people.that Monken said, “It was great to have him out there,” adding, “It’s hard when you’re not in pads. But he’s a pro. ” Cornerback Tyson Campbell said he was surprised by the trade but knew the Browns were getting “a great player in Jared,” and that Verse brings excitement to the defense.
Also: Verse is wearing No. 8, and Dillon Gabriel switched to No. 6.
This is not important unless you already ordered the wrong jersey or feel a compulsion to re-purpose that Baker Mayfield jersey you bought a few years agoCamp, Goodbyes, and Walking Boots: Two Minute Check-In Browns Day One Recap: Todd Monken not Ready to Name a Starting QB; Mason Graham, Grant Delpit do not Practice UPDATED, Video: Joel Bitonio Retires from the Browns: “Really Special to Finish My Career Here in Cleveland”THE WATERCOOLERAfter writing about Joel Bitonio leaving, quarterback competitions extending, and the required walking-boot surveillance, I am legally and spiritually required to find something nice. a community effort in British Columbia helped reunite Dearah Jordan and her husband Sharron with their Australian shepherd, Daisy According to the story, first responders, an all-volunteer search-and-rescue member, locals, and strangers all helped in the search.
Daisy eventually made it back. Everybody exhaled. I have no smooth football transition here. Dogs are good.
People can be good. Sometimes the thing you’re trying to find is scared, hiding, and closer than you think. If that also applies to the Browns’ starting quarterback, well, I’ll pretend I meant to do that. When not wondering whether “This and That” counts as structure or surrender, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning.
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