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Browns’ new coach shares praise for Shedeur Sanders’ key QB ability

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One of Todd Monken’s main priorities as the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns is figuring out who will be his starting quarterback for Week 1. 

Monken has three options to look at this season — Deshaun Watson, who wasn’t available all last season due to injury; Dillon Gabriel, the team’s third-round pick in 2025; and Shedeur Sanders, the Browns’ starter at the end of last season. 

Monken hopes one of these quarterbacks can set themselves apart over time. But all eyes will be on Sanders, who started the final seven games of the 2025 season for the Browns, to emerge as the starter for Monken. 

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Todd Monken looks on

Todd Monken talks with the media after being introduced as head coach of the Cleveland Browns during a press conference at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus Feb. 3, 2026, in Berea, Ohio. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

During the NFL Scouting Combine this week, Monken was asked about his quarterbacks, specifically whether he sees Sanders as the team’s starter. 

“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability,” Monken said, according to the New York Post. “That’s in him. You’ve seen it, we’ve seen it. You saw it in college. You saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go, but what rookie isn’t? What first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go? I’m excited to get started with him and all of our quarterbacks and all of our players.”

Sanders went 3-4 over those seven starts, while Gabriel was 1-5 after taking over for Joe Flacco, who was traded to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals after an injury to starter Joe Burrow. 

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It’s worth noting the Baltimore Ravens, with Monken as offensive coordinator under former head coach John Harbaugh, wanted to draft Sanders to back up Lamar Jackson, the team’s two-time MVP quarterback. However, Sanders made it known he wished to go somewhere in the draft where he had a chance of being the team’s starter. 

Todd Monken speaks

Todd Monken speaks to the media after being introduced as head coach of the Cleveland Browns during a press conference at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus Feb. 3, 2026, in Berea, Ohio. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Sanders was never going to jump Jackson on the depth chart in 2025 and beyond, so the Browns eventually took him in the fifth round after a shocking fall down the draft board last April. 

Watson is in the final year of what has been a disastrous $250 million, fully guaranteed contract for the former Houston Texans ace signal-caller. While playing in three Pro Bowls during his time in Houston, Watson has played just 17 games during his time in Cleveland, which included suspensions on top of his injuries. 

Yet, Monken believes a player who has shown elite talent on the field, no matter when it was, deserves a shot. 

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“I think you are always going to give them the benefit of the doubt that somehow we might be able to get that out of them again,” Monken explained. “I think that’s how you should look at every player. I’m going to let it play out.”

Shedeur Sanders

Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns stands for the national anthem before a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium Aug. 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (Logan Bowles/Getty Images)

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In his 17 games with the Browns, Watson is 9-10, which includes a 1-6 mark in 2024 before an Achilles injury ended his season. 

Sanders threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his seven starts for Cleveland last season. He was eventually named a Pro Bowl replacement.

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UFL to introduce four-point field goal in rule change overhaul

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United Football League games will look noticeably different once the 2026 season kicks off. 

The spring football league announced several rule revisions for its upcoming season, including a new twist on field goals. Any team that makes a field goal of at least 60 yards will receive four points instead of the traditional three.

“We want to create an exciting game. We want good flow. We want big plays. We want to promote scoring,” UFL head of officiating Dean Blandino told USA Today Sports.

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A Columbus Aviators UFL football before an introductory press conference at Historic Crew Stadium Oct. 9, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (Jason Mowry/UFL/Getty Images)

Other notable changes center around punting restrictions. Teams will be barred from punting “anywhere inside the 50-yard line,” the UFL said, except after the two-minute warning in either half.

The past couple of seasons in the NFL saw an uptick in field goal tries from beyond the 60-yard mark. Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who played spring football in the USFL from 2022-23, connected on a 64-yard field goal last season.

UFL logo on a pylon

The UFL logo on an end zone pylon during the second half of the UFL game between the DC Defenders and the San Antonio Brahmas at Audi Field April 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Scott Taetsch/UFL/Getty Images)

“Kicking a 65-yard field goal is a lot harder than one from 35,” Blandino added, according to ESPN. “Why should they count the same? So, it promotes excitement. Those are really, really exciting plays, whether it’s an end to half or end of game, and it’s also going to change the strategy of the game as well.”

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Other changes in the rules overhaul included a ban of the tush push. The short-yardage play was nearly banned by NFL team owners in 2025.

UFL logo on the field

The UFL logo on the field before a game between the Memphis Showboats and the San Antonio Brahmas at Alamodome May 16, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas. (Tim Heitman/UFL/Getty Images)

Kickers will begin kicking off the ball from the 30-yard line during the 2026 season.

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UFL players have already reported to training camp. The 2026 season kicks off March 27 on FOX.

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Which prison is Elizabeth Holmes housed in? Theranos founder complains about inmates not being able to watch Trump SOTU address inside jail 

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Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes recently complained that her federal prison camp did not allow her and her fellow inmates to watch President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Holmes is currently incarcerated at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas after being convicted of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2022.

On February 25, 2026, Elizabeth Holmes took to her X account to complain about not being allowed to watch Trump’s State of the Union address, which was held the previous day. She further alleged that the system was “broken” as the federal prison camp allowed inmates to “stay up past count” to watch the BET Awards, adding:

“My federal prison camp let inmates stay up past count for the BET Music Awards. Last night they wouldn’t let us watch the State of the Union. The Bureau of Prisons would rather we be entertained than educated. The system is broken.”

In a follow-up post, she added that she had learned her camp leadership was unaware of the State of the Union address, writing:

“Update: I’ve now learned that Bryan Prison camp leadership was not aware there was a State of the Union address last night. They have committed to ensuring we can watch future presidential addresses, debates, and other major political events going forward.”

Update: I’ve now learned that Bryan Prison camp leadership was not aware there was a State of the Union address last night. They have committed to ensuring we can watch future presidential addresses, debates, and other major political events going forward.I’m grateful for the quick response. Access to civic life shouldn’t end at a prison fence, and now it won’t. Hopefully this will extend to the other 121 federal prisons in this country. 🇺🇸🦅🦅

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Elizabeth Holmes is scheduled for release on April 3, 2032

Elizabeth Holmes reportedly dropped out of Stanford University at the age of 19 to focus on developing health care technology and founded Theranos, a blood-testing start-up, in 2003. Her company was funded by the likes of Robert Murdoch, and Holmes became the United States’ youngest self-made billionaire in 2014.

Her company specialized in creating a device, called the Edison, that was believed to conduct conventional laboratory and blood tests with just a finger prick and a few drops of blood. It reportedly offered more than 240 tests ranging from cholesterol to cancer.

However, an exposé by The Wall Street Journal, dated October 16, 2015, cast doubt on the company’s claims. This report instigated a federal probe into Holmes and an indictment that charged Holmes and Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani of misleading and defrauding investors and patients.

Elizabeth Holmes’ trial began in 2022, and she began her sentence in 2023. At the time of her sentencing, U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds said:

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“When fraud is perpetrated on those providing the necessary capital, it staunches investment and can cripple an industry. For almost a decade, Elizabeth Holmes fabricated and spread elaborate falsehoods to draw in a legion of capital investors, both big and small, and her deceit caused the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. Her sentence reflects the audacity of her massive fraud and the staggering damage she caused.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Jury finds Elizabeth Holmes guilty on 4 counts of fraud and conspiracy at her former blood-testing startup Theranos.

Holmes was a new first-time mom before her trial began in 2022, and she gave birth to her second child in 2023, months before she was scheduled to begin her sentencing. She began her sentence on May 30, 2023, and is scheduled to be released on April 3, 2032.

According to a People Magazine interview in February 2025, Elizabeth Holmes maintains her innocence, adding:

“Then it was about forgiving myself for my own part. [And] I refused to plead guilty to crimes I did not commit. Theranos failed. But failure is not fraud.”


Elizabeth Holmes reportedly works as a reentry clerk in prison, earning 31 cents an hour. She also works as a law clerk and teaches French to fellow inmates.

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