Browns Insider Casts Doubt on Shedeur Sanders' 2025 Prospects

After a nearly three-week-long stalemate, the Cleveland Browns got a flurry of notable developments to their highly publicized quarterback competition. Following the team's first two preseason games, Head Coach Kevin Stefanski felt comfortable enough to name former Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco his Week 1 starter against the Cincinnati Bengals.

He won the job over trade acquisition Kenny Pickett and the Browns' two quarterback selections in the 2025 NFL Draft: Oregon's Dillon Gabriel and former Colorado Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders. There were high hopes that Sanders could become the QB1 at some point in the upcoming season, particularly after his impressive showing in the preseason opener, when he threw for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-23 passing as the starter against the Carolina Panthers.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to move him up the depth chart, as he remained Cleveland's QB4 throughout the remainder of training camp. However, he may have shown enough for the Browns to trust him to be their second backup for the season, as they wound up trading Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the team's final 53-man roster cuts. With the logjam now a bit more cleared up, could Shedeur Sanders see the field sooner rather than later for the Browns?

Shedeur Sanders, Bill Norton, NFL, preseason, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams — Aug 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Bill Norton (97) tackles Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

ESPN's Tony Grossi thinks that Shedeur Sanders might not start for the Browns at all in 2025

When the Cleveland Browns initially announced that Joe Flacco would be the starter, fans and analysts felt that the team had purposefully left it ambiguous, designating him as the QB1 solely for the Week 1 clash against the Cincinnati Bengals. That potentially left the door open for one of the other quarterbacks to overtake Flacco for the starting job as early as game two.

However, Shedeur Sanders didn't do himself any favors in the Browns' preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams, completing just 3-of-6 passes for a meager 14 yards while taking five sacks for 41 yards lost. That poor performance may have erased any goodwill he built up against the Carolina Panthers and throughout training camp.

ESPN's Tony Grossi is convinced that Shedeur Sanders might not start for the Browns at all in 2025 after what he did against LA. When asked how many games he thinks fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel might start this season, he said:

"I'll say, over/under on that would be three."

He wasn't nearly as optimistic about Sanders' prospects:

"I put that over/under at one."

How many games will each Browns QB start this season? @TonyGrossi says the O/U of games started by Shedeur Sanders is 1... Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/aesQP6vM4l
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 26, 2025

With Kenny Pickett now gone, there is enough opportunity for the Browns to start all three of their quarterbacks for a good chunk of the season. Sanders will have to regain the momentum he built against the Panthers, however, if he means to climb up Cleveland's depth chart.