Shedeur Sanders Drops Humble Line About Trying to Earn One Browns Star’s Respect

Sanders admitted he looks up to his star teammate Myles Garrett.

Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders reflected on his rookie season on a recent guest appearance on the Up and Adams Show. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Of all the foes and adversaries Shedeur Sanders has faced in his rookie season in the NFL, the one player he might admire the most is on his own team.

Sanders recently opened up about his first year in the pros and discussed his growing relationship with one teammate in particular: Star Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett. Both Sanders and Garrett closed out their seasons on high notes, with the former fifth-round pick clinching a pair of wins in Cleveland’s final two games as Garrett wrote himself into NFL history with his historic 23rd sack of the campaign.

Sanders, who’s typically bubbling with self-confidence and swagger, took the time Tuesday to express his respect and admiration for Garrett, having had the privilege of sharing a locker room with the Browns veteran last year.

“I appreciate Myles a lot. You wanna always gain his respect,” Sanders said on the Up & Adams Show. “That’s somebody like, for the first time I’m like, ‘Dang, I gotta do everything I can on the field and just be the same person every day to earn his respect.’

“He’s definitely one of our leaders, and he just leads in different ways. ... His actions are loud. The way he goes about his work is loud. His results are loud. You kind of look at the recipe that he uses, and all these different great players use ... just building those relationships, and anytime I ever need them, I know they’ll be able to answer the phone. Myles, he’s somebody that you definitely want to gain his respect. Do I feel like I accomplished that? I don't know. But it's just going to continue to make me work harder.”

"You wanna always gain his respect... Do I feel like I accomplished that? I don't know. But it's just going to continue to make me work harder."

– Shedeur Sanders on teammate Myles Garrett@ShedeurSanders | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/RwTr52qHrj

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 3, 2026

Sanders was also asked in real time what he thought of comments from his new coach, Todd Monken, regarding the Browns’ starting quarterback situation in 2026. Monken notably declined to commit to Sanders as the team’s de facto starter, but the Colorado product already figured as much heading into the offseason.

“That's what's expected,” Sanders said. “I think each and every day I have to prove [something] to everybody and to myself, also. ... Just hit your landmarks on what you need to do, focus more in-depth on everything and what you want to, and just be in control of your life and what you can control.”

A very mature answer from a soon-to-be second-year quarterback with a real opportunity to build off of last season’s success and show Monken and the rest of the organization that he deserves the starting QB job—and has his own story to write, too.

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