Joe Burrow Had High Praise for Shedeur Sanders’s Attitude Ahead of Bengals-Browns Finale

Cleveland and Cincinnati will finish out the year at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.

Sanders was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft despite initial projections that had him going in the first. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Browns and Bengals are facing off in their season finale on Sunday afternoon, which means rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders will be up against superstar quarterback Joe Burrow for the first time in his nascent career.

So, naturally, Burrow was asked about the opposing quarterback on Wednesday, when he had some insightful and kind praise for Sanders ahead of their divisional tilt.

“Yeah, I really enjoyed watching him in college,” Burrow told reporters, asked what he thought of Sanders and the attention he has garnered. “I thought he made a lot of plays. I thought he could throw it. And then obviously, given who his dad is, he knows how to handle the media, knows how to handle the spotlight.

“Certainly under the microscope more than any other fifth-round pick that’s ever been in the history of football. And every clip that I see, he seems to be handling it well. Says most of the right things in the media. He is who he is. He’s himself. That's what you want out of a football player. So seems to be handling it the right way.”

Burrow also said that he and backup Joe Flacco, who started the season with Sanders in Cleveland, had spoken about the rookie and his abilities.

Watch that answer below around the 4:12 mark.

Burrow had some nice praise for the young Sanders, who has played solidly in a dramatic year that saw him rise from third-stringer to starter. In seven games (six starts), he has thrown for 1,289 yards and seven touchdowns, plus one more he ran in on the ground.

That said, his position as QB1 next season is far from guaranteed. As of the end of Week 17, the Browns hold the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, with which they could draft another quarterback to possibly compete with or usurp Sanders in the fall. It also seems as though injured and maligned QB Deshaun Watson is nearing a return, and could shake up the QB race in Cleveland even further.

All to say—it will be very interesting to see what happens as the offseason progresses. But at least Sanders has some nice encouragement from a fellow quarterback to fall back on until then.

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