Browns Quarterback Decision Could Leave Shedeur Sanders’ Future in Doubt

Shedeur Sanders’ Browns journey may be ending before it really had a chance to begin.

Browns fans hoped to see if the second-year player could grow with the team and improve with a young and talented roster. The Browns named Deshaun Watson starting quarterback and Head Coach Todd Monken said “[w]e’re not anticipating this being a week-to-week thing”.

The Browns (for now) have no immediate plans to change out play callers.

Should Sanders have even been in Cleveland?

In 2025, the Browns needed a quarterback going into the draft and passed on Sanders in the first four rounds. They chose Dillon Gabriel two rounds prior. It never made much sense to draft two quarterbacks in the 2025 draft, and although they say that it was a group decision, Browns fans know that ownership can act on a whim. They stashed him on the practice field with undrafted rookies and he did not receive any serious reps until it was necessary due to injuries. After seven games of starting, the Browns did not see enough to name him the starting quarterback in the offseason.

This training camp he split first-team reps with Watson. He even got passed over on a practice where he was scheduled to play with the first team. The Browns then chose Watson over Sanders, even though Watson did not impress in training camp, came off a five for 12 performance versus the Bills third-string, and then caused tension with the fans. Watson has not shown that he has any resemblance to his Houston days in six years. So what does that say about how the Browns view Sanders?

The only way for Sanders to get better is to get live game reps. The Browns are saying that they have seen enough in training camp to believe that the live game reps will not help. Watson does not look good enough to start at quarterback in the NFL and it will lead to losses. The losses will result in a high draft pick. If they started Sanders and he was what they thought he was, then they would lose a lot of games and have a high pick. But at least they would know what and what not Sanders can bring to the team.

The Browns will most likely have a top five pick in the 2027 draft that is expected to be deep at the quarterback position. They should draft a quarterback with their first pick and in that case Watson will finally be off of the roster.

The Browns would not want Sanders’ presence looming over the new quarterback with the already tough task of playing quarterback for the Browns. Moving on from Sanders would not affect the salary cap as he is on a rookie, fifth-round pick deal. If Sanders played well this season, then the Browns could use two first-round picks on improving other areas.

Sanders came into Cleveland with a bang and may leave with a hum, because the Browns did not invest in his development or future.

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