Todd Monken Press Conference — May 20th, 2026

[0:00] Todd, with the quarterbacks, obviously Deshaun took what seemed like a lot of the first team reps, at least early on. [0:08] Have you sort of, can you kind of establish what the game plan has been with how you want to run the reps with them as OTAs? [0:16] Well, actually today, Deshaun, when we two-spot, we divide up Shadour and Deshaun. [0:22] So when it was two-spotted, we just keep the guys in the same spot. [0:26] Actually, Shadour took the first team reps the rest of practice. [0:29] Can you say which of the quarterbacks is ahead at this point? [0:33] No. [0:34] Do you need to divide them up and let them play school practice? [0:47] Yeah, nothing's really changed other than it's a different day and you're firing the same questions. [0:54] I'm not trying to be, I mean, nothing's really changed. [0:57] I mean, we're going to rotate those guys and play the best player. [1:00] I mean, and we'll see. [1:02] Did you have to alter your practice regimen inside today? [1:06] No, not really. [1:07] The only thing we had to change was when we went two-spot, full speed, we had to take out, we had to replace some of the shots. [1:16] So we basically, we were jogging at the shorter routes. [1:19] We just had to take some of that out, but everything was the same. [1:22] Not just with the quarterbacks, but kind of all your decisions. [1:26] Has anything changed about your timeline of when you want to have kind of a shape of who you're putting in where? [1:31] Or is it kind of the same as what you said, just letting it go through the summer? [1:35] Well, like, you'd love to have it at every position at the end of spring, but you can't guarantee that. [1:41] But we'll have it set for Jacksonville. [1:46] Tom, it looked like Denzel Boston made the catch of the day over Hickory. [1:50] That was awesome, wasn't it? [1:51] Yeah. [1:51] Wasn't that cool? [1:53] I mean, I know I'm an offensive head coach, but hell, you know, you get a draft pick and it's on one of the most talented guys in the league. [2:01] So it's encouraging, right? [2:03] That's what you want to see. [2:04] You want to see your guys, especially some of your younger draft pick, make some of those plays. [2:10] So he did that at minicamp with the burpees, but now with everybody involved, does that kind of re-show what you're getting? [2:14] Yeah, that's really cool. [2:16] I mean, there's no other way to put it. [2:17] You guys saw it. [2:18] I mean, it doesn't matter who it is. [2:20] It just happens to be elevated because it's a younger player that we certainly need to come along, right? [2:28] Him and KC. [2:29] There's a reason why you draft players, a reason why you put them out there and see where we're at. [2:35] Winshaw looked like he is kind of back to himself a little bit. [2:38] Looked good, didn't he? [2:39] Yeah. [2:39] God, that was fun too. [2:41] Yeah, just what do you see from him and where he's at as far as his progression back from that injury? [2:48] Looked pretty good to me, obviously. [2:51] You know, there's been a couple of days he gets a little sore, which is normal, but no one works harder. [2:56] And you talk about a competitive spirit, and we don't even get to see him run. [3:01] I think his rare trait is he's a bull. [3:05] Like, he refuses to go down, and we don't even get to see that here. [3:08] So, I'm excited. [3:10] I can go back to Boston for a second. [3:12] What is the biggest adjustment for him? [3:13] Is it literally just going against the best? [3:17] I think so. [3:18] I think learning the offense, I don't think he lacks confidence. [3:25] I don't think it's that. [3:27] It's just the day-to-day work that it takes to play against the best in the world. [3:35] And I think that's a learning curve. [3:40] Everybody's a little bit different. [3:41] Some guys, it happens a lot quicker. [3:44] Some guys have natural confidence. [3:45] In others, it takes a while. [3:47] Do you intend to ease in Fano and Brailsford with the ones? [3:52] Yes. [3:53] The idea is to kind of ease them in as they're learning. [3:58] But the other guy's got to play better. [4:02] I mean, there was times with the ones, you know, not good enough. [4:06] So, you'd like to ease them. [4:08] You'd love to ease them in, but eventually, eventually, the easing has to end. [4:13] Yeah, and that could change as OTAs proceed? [4:16] 100%. [4:17] 100%. [4:18] Todd, as you transition from the rookie minicamp with the young guys to OTAs, [4:24] what is that sort of next phase or stage of their progressions? [4:27] You're getting sort of acclimated to the NFL and your teams from the bottom. [4:30] What are you looking for? [4:31] Well, again, what they missed, you know, they missed approximately three weeks that led up [4:39] to that from a learning standpoint, from an install standpoint. [4:44] When they came to rookie minicamp, I think we installed one and two. [4:47] So, certainly, as you stack days of install and learning, you're going to start to see that, you know, [4:55] we'll get through eight installs and we'll see where we're at. [4:58] But it becomes harder with each day that you install and the defense installs and the looks that come up every day. [5:05] But that's part of it. [5:07] And don't overthink it for the guys. [5:09] It's just football. [5:11] It's curl flat. [5:12] It's four verts. [5:13] It's blocking. [5:14] It's tackling. [5:15] Don't overthink it. [5:16] Todd, what about Elton and getting him out there and getting to see him on the field? [5:20] There's so much you can do with your line, but how nice is it to see that group? [5:24] Oh, it's, first of all, he's a real pro. [5:29] He's worked awfully hard to get back. [5:31] And, you know, it's been great to have him out there, like all those guys that we signed. [5:36] You mentioned earlier in the offseason, the only way to clean up penalties and mental mistakes, [5:40] that sort of thing, is to drill it and practice it. [5:42] How are you guys putting that to work here early in the offseason program? [5:47] Well, I mean, we certainly have the officials out here. [5:50] Certainly, they give us a report every day. [5:52] And then we look at it and try to clean it up. [5:54] We address it in each of the rooms. [5:57] Certainly, there at the end, you take a guy out. [6:00] It's all right. [6:00] It's okay. [6:01] We'll play someone else. [6:02] And ultimately, it's, you're not going to be an elite football team if you have penalties. [6:07] So, that's all you're going to do, continue to do, is keep emphasizing it. [6:12] And especially with cadence. [6:14] To me, that's the biggest thing. [6:15] Now, you've gotten a chance to hold Francis' Robats. [6:20] Has there been anything that's surprised you about some of their abilities? [6:24] Has he been up for a while? [6:25] Well, it's, again, I haven't, I shouldn't say surprised. [6:32] I think more people would be surprised. [6:36] Deshawn's athleticism shows up. [6:39] Obviously, he's had that, but he's had his injuries that have set him back. [6:46] So, but that's been, I wouldn't say a surprise, but it's exciting to see. [6:49] It's a weapon for him. [6:51] It's one of his superpowers, his athleticism. [6:54] And I think Shadour's come miles in terms of his progressions, getting the ball out, his understanding of concepts. [7:06] I think he's really, really come a long way. [7:09] The defense was able to have a couple heads up hits, knock the ball out a couple times. [7:14] Did you like their aggression in this session today? [7:17] Yeah. [7:18] We threw interceptions in seven on seven, for God's sakes. [7:21] I mean, who does that? [7:22] There's no pass rush. [7:23] I mean, it's embarrassing. [7:24] What have you had conversations with Deshawn's been like, Todd, with all that he's gone through to get to this? [7:32] Well, he's been great. [7:36] I mean, I, you know, I think everybody would say it. [7:40] I'm all for a clean slate. [7:42] You know, I want the best for every player that we have, every coach. [7:46] I want the best for, you know, anybody in this world to have a great life. [7:51] I think it's really cool that he still has an opportunity with a change, right, to showcase his ability, see where he's at. [7:59] I'm all for it. [8:00] Todd, a question about your schedule. [8:02] You have worked in Jacksonville and Tampa, so you know what's waiting for you in September, weather-wise. [8:08] Has that affected your training camp plans at all? [8:12] No, I think it's awesome. [8:13] I think having two back-to-back Florida games, I think if our guys don't understand what that means when we come to training camp and it's hot out, [8:21] and us, our ability to practice in it and get acclimated in it, I mean, I think they already get it. [8:27] I think they already understand we went out there yesterday, and we were fine, but they realized it was only 85. [8:34] You know, it's going to be 20 degrees hotter, and it's going to be right at 1 o'clock like yesterday, and we're going to have to be ready to go. [8:39] So you seem excited about that. [8:41] I am excited. [8:42] I think it's a great start. [8:44] I think for us, I wouldn't want it any better than that. [8:47] I mean, should we get to go down to Florida? [8:49] Certainly a team that a year ago was in a similar spot as we are. [8:54] You know, where are they going from there? [8:56] And a team that was a playoff team and really had every opportunity to beat the Bills at home and didn't, but I'm excited. [9:03] Playoff team in Florida, 100-some degrees, middle of the day, and if that doesn't get you fired up, [9:10] that doesn't get our guys fired up for the offseason and then go to training camp, I don't know what will. [9:14] You've known about Deshaun's athleticism for a long time, and before you got here, you probably didn't know how driven he was. [9:20] What does it say about him that he still wants to be a elite player after all he's been through over the last couple of years? [9:28] I think it's really cool. [9:29] I know I've said that like five times today, but like here's a guy that really at this point has made plenty of money. [9:40] I think we all know that, right? [9:42] He's had plenty of success and has had disappointment in his career, a number of things he couldn't control from an injury standpoint. [9:53] But to come back and want to battle, want to further his career and change the narrative, I think it's really cool. [10:08] So we're all bringing up of each other. [10:10] Can you see the competition kind of elevating? [10:12] I don't know that. [10:13] You'd have to ask those guys if that's what motivates them. [10:16] I don't know that. [10:17] I would guess that just the idea of the opportunity to be the starter for the Cleveland Browns, [10:21] one of 32 teams in the NFL, is enough. [10:23] But I don't know that. [10:26] You'd have to ask them that. [10:27] Just for the record, have you had any face-to-face with Garrett yet? [10:32] Miles? [10:32] No. [10:33] Some of the slower walk-through stuff you guys do at the start of practice to get organized. [10:41] How important is that? [10:42] It seems like a small thing, but how important is that in the big picture to help? [10:46] Well, you can't beat your guys into the ground, so it's about getting reps. [10:52] So the start of practice, you know, being more of a jog-through allows you to buy some reps [10:58] and allows you to do more two-spot. [11:00] The more you, you know, slow the tempo down, the more you can divide your guys up. [11:05] And that allows you to get, you know, more opportunity for guys to learn and develop. [11:11] So that's an integral part of what we'll do now, as long as I'm still here. [11:17] Todd, last one. [11:19] Going back, you've had a lot of experience in college, especially, you know, most recently in Georgia. [11:25] How much has that college experience helped with, when you're in this stage of, you know, [11:30] off-season, training camp, when you have the roster's 90, you have a lot of players you're trying to evaluate. [11:36] How much has that college experience and how you deal with the massive, the large rosters helped [11:41] in terms of dealing with what you deal with, you know, setting things up here for that evaluation? [11:47] It helps. [11:48] I mean, you're used to having a bigger roster in college. [11:50] Obviously, it's shrunk now, so you're used to, you know, in terms of going more two-spot, [11:58] trying to find more reps, more walk-through. [12:00] Now, the rules hinder that a little bit because the moment we get on the field, you have two hours. [12:05] I mean, that's what you've got. [12:06] So minus any type of, you know, stretching or all that stuff, but you're up against it a little bit [12:13] where when you get in mini camps or training camp, it's not the same. [12:17] But certainly being in college and having a bigger roster and forcing yourself to rep all those players. [12:25] And we're in the development business. [12:27] I mean, let's not kid ourselves what business we're in. [12:29] I mean, you don't get 15 first-round picks. [12:34] You don't get that. [12:35] You get the picks you get, and you've got to develop everybody on your roster. [12:39] And eventually, the guys that make your team and your practice squad are all going to play at some point. [12:43] So I think it's imperative that we get as many reps as we can within the constraints that we have.