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Former NFL Linebacker Predicts Shedeur Sanders Will Be Browns Starting Quarterback in a Month

Ryan Phillips

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders will open the season third on the depth chart.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders will open the season third on the depth chart. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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The Browns open their season on Sunday against the Bengals with Joe Flacco under center, but one former NFL player doesn't think he'll be there for long.

Flacco won the team's quarterback competition in training camp, beating out rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, and veteran Kenny Pickett, who has since been traded away. The 40-year-old will get first crack at the position, but there's no guarantee he finishes the season as the team's starter.

This week on The Pivot podcast, co-host Channing Crowder made a bold prediction about the Browns' quarterback situation and the future there.

"Joe Flacco is 716 years old. Shedeur Sanders is about to be the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns here coming up in a month or two," Crowder said.

Sanders will have a lot of work to do to prove Crowder right. He's currently listed third on the depth chart below Flacco and Gabriel.

Despite being widely expected to be a first-round pick before the 2025 NFL draft, Sanders dropped like a rock once the event began. Cleveland eventually snagged him in the fifth round with the 144th pick. That was two rounds after they selected Gabriel, so it makes sense that the Oregon product is ahead of his fellow rookie on the depth chart.

Sanders had some moments in the preseason but didn't show enough to earn more playing time. He completed 17-of-29 passes for 152 yards, with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 95.8. He was also sacked seven times.

Crowder may eventually be correct, but Sanders has a long way to go until he's starting.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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