Todd Monken did himself no favors Sunday night.
After the Browns’ road loss to the New York Jets, the rookie head coach had a chance to let a nasty hit speak for itself. Instead, he jumped in front of the reaction and defended Minkah Fitzpatrick, the former longtime Pittsburgh Steelers safety now with the Jets, after Fitzpatrick left Browns rookie KC Concepcion shaken up in the first quarter.
Concepcion was knocked out of the game after a high, helmet-to-helmet shot that hit the side of his head and left him motionless on the turf. Fans immediately blasted the play as dirty. Concepcion was eventually able to get up and walk to the locker room with trainers.
Fitzpatrick also has history with Cleveland. He was the defender on the hit to Nick Chubb’s knee that effectively ended Chubb’s Browns career back in 2023.
Monken, though, went in the other direction when asked about the play. He said, "That’s just a bang-bang play,” Monken said.
“Minkah’s been in this league a long time. I mean, he’s not a dirty player.
I’ve never seen that. It’s a bang-bang play, and unfortunately it happened to our guy.
That’s part of the league.”
There wasn’t much upside in taking that stance, especially with Browns fans already furious after the team blew a fourth-quarter lead.
Even if Monken wasn’t completely off base - Fitzpatrick did appear to be aiming at Concepcion’s shoulder before Concepcion twisted in the air and dropped his helmet slightly - the result was still illegal contact. That’s the piece that mattered most. Fitzpatrick wasn’t tossed, but a fine next week feels likely, and the NFL has spent years trying to remove exactly that kind of shot from the game.
Monken’s issue here wasn’t just the answer. It was the timing and the tone. He’s already heard criticism around the quarterback competition that hung over the Browns’ offseason, and this latest moment won’t quiet any of that.
The background matters, too. Browns fans adore Chubb and can’t stand Fitzpatrick, which made the soft defense of Fitzpatrick an especially poor choice at the podium.
There were plenty of ways to respond. Monken picked the one that sounded most dismissive.
Cleveland is still 3-2 and right in the AFC North race, so this loss doesn’t blow anything up. But it was another reminder that the Browns are dealing with a rookie head coach, and at times this season, that’s been impossible to miss.
In Other News...
Deshaun Watson Just Gave The Browns Another Unwanted Distraction
The Browns were handed another bit of off-field clutter this week when the NFL fined Deshaun Watson and Quinshon Judkins for an illegal celebration during the game against the Steelers. The gesture, which involved pretending to smoke, drew unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties and added one more item to a season already full of noise around Cleveland.
Watson was fined $14,926 and Judkins $14,397, with the leagues decision coming before the Browns Week 5 matchup against the Jets. It is the kind of small but avoidable distraction Cleveland would rather do without, especially when every week seems to bring a fresh reminder that discipline issues can quickly become part of the larger conversation around this team. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Roethlisberger Just Handed Browns Fans The Perfect Reminder
Ben Roethlisberger found a way to stir the pot again, even if it was in jest. On a recent podcast, the former Steelers quarterback made a joking comment that suggested he had never lost to the Browns, a line that immediately invites a fact-check in Cleveland, where the franchise has beaten Pittsburgh multiple times and owns a more recent playoff win than its old rival.
For Browns fans, the bigger takeaway might be the reminder that Pittsburghs long-standing mystique has been chipped away more than once in this matchup. Cleveland has won five straight home games against the Steelers, and Roethlisbergers uncertainty about labeling any team a true contender entering Week 5 only adds to the feeling that the AFC Norths old assumptions no longer hold up the way they used to. [Read more 🡒]
Todd Monken Is Changing The Browns Conversation Faster Than Anyone Expected
Todd Monken arrived in Cleveland with plenty of questions attached to his first season as an NFL head coach, but the Browns have done a fast job of changing the conversation. At 3-1, the early results have quieted a lot of the initial criticism, and Monkens call to start Deshaun Watson has looked a lot more defensible with the team winning behind it.
The bigger surprise is how quickly Monkens profile has risen beyond the building. Some sportsbooks already have him showing up among the top candidates for the 2026 NFL Coach of the Year award, a sign that his impact is being noticed well outside Cleveland. For a team that spent the offseason under a microscope, the bigger question now is how long this momentum can keep rewriting the expectations around Monken and the Browns. [Read more 🡒]