BEREA, Ohio -- A late practice sequence on Monday encapsulated the highs and lows that can occur in the Cleveland Browns' quarterback competition on a given day.
Shedeur Sanders was leading Cleveland's No. 2 offense in an end-of-game situational drill: down 2, near the goal line, with about a dozen seconds remaining and no timeouts left. The objective for Sanders was to attempt a pass into the end zone but leave enough time for a field goal in case of an incompletion. Sanders held the ball too long and finally threw a pass out of the back of the end zone with no time remaining, drawing the ire of coach Todd Monken.
About 10 minutes later, Sanders displayed his growth before the snap. Leading a two-minute drill, Sanders signaled a tight end to motion inside and block, properly setting his protection to block the defense's blitz before delivering a deep touchdown pass to wide receiver Gage Larvadain.
The quarterback competition between Sanders and Deshaun Watson has delivered plenty of highlights and lowlights in a week-plus of practices. But most importantly to Monken, it has brought teaching moments as he installs a new offense and evaluates each passer, focusing on pre-snap operation and post-snap execution.