NFL 2025: Should the Browns Start Shedeur Sanders?

• The Browns’ Shedeur Sanders played very well in their 30-10 preseason win over the Panthers
• While NFL preseason games should not be taken too seriously, the Browns’ QB situation is muddled at best
• If Shedeur maintains this level of performance for the entire preseason, should they just roll the dice and start him?

The Browns’ QB Reality Opens the Door Wide for Shedeur

The Browns have five quarterbacks on their preseason roster: Joe Flacco, Shedeur, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and the recently signed Ty Huntley. Gabriel and Pickett are currently nursing hamstring injuries. Flacco is listed as QB1.

This is not an inspiring list. Before the 2025 NFL Draft, it might have been given the way draftniks’ enthusiasm over Shedeur. But NFL teams and evaluators did not share that enthusiasm, and he slipped to the fifth round, where the Browns took him. It was two rounds after they had taken Gabriel, sparking speculation that the league wanted the distraction of Shedeur’s slide to end, and it asked Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to do a solid and take him.

Players have ended up with a certain team and become stalwarts in much stranger ways.

But the borderline crisis creates an opportunity. The door is wide open for Shedeur to walk through and prove everyone wrong. The Browns are viewed as such a mess that they have little to lose by starting Shedeur if he wins the job.

Maybe He Was Humbled By the Draft Slide

This is an individual mentality.

Aaron Rodgers wasn’t humbled by his skid from the top of the 2005 first round to 24, where the Packers grabbed him. He was angry and used it as fuel.

Shedeur expected to be drafted in the first round. No one expected him to drop to the fifth. For a player like Shedeur, who is the son of NFL royalty and finished eighth in the 2024 Heisman Trophy voting, being passed over in the draft is embarrassing, particularly after he had a custom-built draft room constructed in advance of the big day.

But it could be a positive as it punctured an inflated head. Being a high first-round pick means that an organization has a big investment in the player. The front office needs that player to succeed because of the money involved, and because they used a valuable pick on him.

Shedeur fell so far and the Browns appeared to grudgingly select him. Because of that, they are not wedded to him in any way. If he behaves like a diva, as he might have done had he been a high pick, then they can cut him, no harm, no foul. Under these circumstances, he’s more likely to be agreeable, do as he’s told, and stick to game plans.

Starting Him is No Lose

General manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski’s jobs are likely on the line based on this season’s results. Coming off a 3-14 disaster, they need to show improvement. That means there won’t be any players who are playing because of contract duration, salary, or draft status. It’s about winning.

As for their QBs, Flacco is 40; Pickett is on his third organization since the Steelers drafted him in the first round in the 2022 draft; Gabriel is a rookie like Shedeur; and Huntley is a journeyman.

The slate is clean, and the best player will start. His draft status and the negative reputation he brings into the league suddenly benefit Shedeur. If he acts as a professional, shows humility, is a team player, and performs, he can win the job.

He was dynamic in college.

For the Browns and particularly Stefanski, it’s a matter of self-preservation.

With the media and fans so invested in Shedeur, he will be the center of attention no matter whether he’s playing or not. It’s not as if the Browns have Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Patrick Mahomes making the notion ridiculous that Shedeur should ever put on his helmet. Their QB room is a mishmash. In a nihilistic way, they could start Shedeur from the outset with two possible outcomes:

• He’s good or good enough
• He’s bad

If he’s good or good enough and the team is performing with him under center, great!

If he’s bad, they can sit him. Anytime the mere suggestion that he’s put into a game to replace Flacco/Pickett/Gabriel/Huntley/whoever, they need only point to the games he played and say they gave him his shot and he wasn’t good enough.

Do You Think the Browns Should Start Shedeur Sanders?

Frankly, the Browns’ decision with Shedeur Sanders is one of the only reasons anyone is paying attention to the Browns at all. Ironically, he’s playing well and now has a leg up on two of his challengers since Pickett and Gabriel and injured.

So what should the Browns do with Shedeur and how will it impact their season?

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