The Cleveland Browns selected former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders is on a team with five quarterbacks, leaving his status for the 2025 season up in the air.
Despite five quarterbacks, returning Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is recovering from an achilles injury, and his status for the season is up in the air. This still leaves Sanders to compete with three others for a starting role.
While the projected starter is veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, much can change by September. ESPN’s Louis Reddick believes that Sanders has a strong possibility of being the week one starter for the Cleveland Browns.
“It’s not ridiculous,” Reddick said on ESPN’s Get Up. “As long as they can get him enough reps and it sounds like Kevin Stefanski is aware of the fact that in order to create a real quarterback competition he has to kinda change some things in terms of the way he divvies up reps during the preseason and you know, during the offseason.”
During Rookie Minicamp, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski told the media not to pay too close attention to reps throughout the spring and summer. While ESPN Cleveland reported veteran quarterback Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel will get No. 1 and No. 2 reps at the start of OTAs, to give Sanders a fair shot he will likely get more reps down the line as well.
“If he can compete with Dillon Gabriel, if he can compete with Joe Flacco, he can compete with Kenny Pickett, there’s a very good chance,” Reddick continued. “If this is an organic competition with a level playing field he could be your starter week one. No questions about it.”
OTA’s for the Cleveland Browns will take place May 27-29 and June 3-5. The mandatory veteran minicamp is set for June 10-12. While the number of reps the quarterbacks take may not indicate depth chart positioning, it will be a crucial time for Sanders. If the rookie quarterback can impress the team early in the offseason workouts, it can set him up well for the preseason, eventually leading to him starting week one.
While the biggest area of improvement that Sanders has to work on is not taking too many sacks, he has demonstrated that he is an accurate passer throughout his time with the Colorado Buffaloes. In 2024, Sanders passed for 4,134 yards and 32 touchdowns. He did well with ball security, throwing just 10 interceptions and finishing the season with a 74.0 passer rating.
The Browns built a quarterback room with young talent and veterans. No matter who is the projected starter, the competition is said to be wide open. The team likes both of their 2025 draft picks and will give them each an opportunity to prove themselves.
The regular season for the Cleveland Browns kicks off on Sept. 7 against AFC North rival the Cincinnati Bengals. If Sanders can prove himself, ahead of September there is a chance that he will be the week one starter despite being a fifth-round draft pick.
