Shedeur Sanders is finally starting to accept he must earn his way to the starting spot for the Cleveland Browns, as the 23-year-old competes against Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel to impress the head coach.
After an impressive season with the Colorado Buffaloes in the NCAA, as he threw for 4134 yards and 37 touchdowns as well as leading the team to the Alamo Bowl, fans were shocked when he was snubbed in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanders was tipped to be a first-round pick but following fears regarding his personality, the role of his father and some weaknesses in his game, he fell all the way down to the 144th spot before the Browns eventually picked him in the fifth-round.
Now landing at the Huntington Bank Field, he seems to have impressed the coaches through the rookie minicamp, in which he participated alongside Gabriel, but according to Albert Breer, he’s understanding he has to work hard to impress Kevin Stefanksi.
“It does sound like Sanders,” Breer told Sports Illustrated. “Based on the interviews I’ve heard, is starting to settle in as a guy who knows he’ll have to earn just the chance to compete to get on the field in 2025.”
Can Sanders earn the starter spot?
Sanders, on the balance of it, does appear to have an edge over Gabriel based on their time in college football. However, with the concerns relating to Shedeur‘s life away from the field, he might find himself last in the pecking order.
Then there is the question of what the Browns choose to do when Watson eventually returns from his Achilles injury, which could potentially be at some point within the 2025/26 NFL season.
The 29-year-old is on a $230,000,000 deal in Ohio and that’s money the team will not want to idly waste, even if the controversial QB can barely remain fit for a full season and hasn’t reached the heights of his year with the Houston Texans.
All of this means the young Sanders could face an uphill battle in his bid to land the starting gig for Cleveland, but he is known for his determined personality and will be relishing the challenge and the Browns say the door is open.
“I wouldn’t look into really anything,” Stefanski said of giving Gabriel first snaps at the rookie mini-camp. “I wouldn’t look into anything.
“You’ll see the whole weekend, going through the spring, we don’t pay too close attention to who is in there first.
“There’s a lot of time between now and September, so we’ll have a plan. But it’s an all-encompassing evaluation.”
The Browns will take on the Cincinnati Bengals to open the 2025/26 NFL season and they will be on home turf against Joe Burrow on September 7. The game will be live on FOX Sports and will begin at 13:00 ET/10:00 PT.
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