As Kevin Stefanski begins a pivotal sixth year as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, the team remains adrift in quarterback uncertainty following a failed investment in Deshaun Watson.
The 29-year-old will miss the 2025/26 NFL season injured again, as his $230m fully guaranteed contract hurtles towards being the worst deal in sports history, certainly in football history.
His absence for the upcoming campaign has forced the Browns into a crowded and unconvincing quarterback room consisting of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. A mixture of veterans and rookies, none particularly impressive.
Still, despite this accumulation, rumors persist that the Browns‘ leadership is far from satisfied. For example, FanSided’s Sayre Bedinger recently projected Cleveland selecting LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier with the second overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Another option could potentially be Arch Manning out of the Texas Longhorns program, who is tipped to contend for the Heisman Trophy in the 2025/26 NCAA season and is viewed as a generational prospect akin to his uncles, Peyton and Eli.
Fans will remember how the pair both went on to win Super Bowl honors, and if Arch lives up to anything like that legacy then he is definitely the prize pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Sanders aims to fight back in Cleveland quarterback conundrum
However, one man keen to make sure he lands the starter spot at the Huntington Bank Field is Sanders, despite his slump from projected first rounder down to 144th overall and in the fifth round.
Despite encouraging words from Stefanski early on, Shedeur now seemingly sits behind three other passers on the unofficial depth chart. Flacco leads, followed by Pickett and Gabriel. Sanders, at best, remains a developmental option in a high-pressure environment.
As a result, the 23-year-old from the Colorado Buffaloes program is keen to prove the head coach wrong and recently was spotted training solo, fully dressed in Browns practice gear, his No. 12 jersey unmistakable.
“Shedeur Sanders getting some work in at ‘Country Prime’, ahead of Training Camp- in his full Browns Practice attire,” captioned a video on X.com, formerly Twitter.
This quiet display of resolve comes at a time when trade rumors are beginning to swirl, with the Browns tipped to get rid of one of their quarterbacks before their Week 1 meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Rather than demand a new opportunity elsewhere, Sanders continues to lean into the grind, attempting to convince Stefanski and the Cleveland staff that his value runs deeper than the current depth chart suggests.
“Where I go, I’m trying to elevate the Cleveland Browns to a different level,” Sanders said. “And sometimes when you go to the different level and when you getting around or you trying to bring a different level of different energy, you gonna have people in your organization that don’t like that.”
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