Glenn Kaplan
Shedeur Sanders was not the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns before Thanksgiving weekend in the 2025 NFL season. Against the Baltimore Ravens after Thanksgiving, Sanders came into the game for an injured Dillon Gabriel. Despite struggling against the Ravens, he was named the starting quarterback for the rest of that season. Sanders last season completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 169 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown, along with averaging 8.0 yards per carry.
Sanders is 24 years old. He was a fifth-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft from the Colorado Buffaloes. There were some good moments for him last season and a lot of bad moments. With Kevin Stefanski out the door as head coach, Todd Monken has made it clearly that the quarterback battle will be between Sanders and Deshaun Watson. The Browns are not going to be a Super Bowl contender this season and have a young roster. If Sanders is the starter, this could be his final chance to prove himself with the 2027 NFL Draft looming.
Colin Cowherd Believes the Cleveland Browns will be a good team with Shedeur Sanders
Colin Cowherd was on his show The Herd with Colin Cowherd on FS1 on Tuesday. He talked about the possible expectations for the Browns entering the 2026 season if Sanders is the starting quarterback over Watson. Cowherd said, “I think you can win games with Shedeur… I think they’re going to win games this year. Not two or three. Six, seven, or eight. I really believe that.” If the Browns were to go 8-9 with Shedeur as the starting quarterback, general manager Andrew Berry would probably then not draft a quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft.
The first two games of the 2026 NFL season are not going to be easy for Cleveland. They will have to go on the road and face the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They will have two winnable games at home after that against the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleveland could be 2-2 after the first four weeks of the season. The Browns finished with a 5-12 record last season in the NFL. They have finished in last place in the AFC North for the last two seasons.
However, Sanders is going to need to produce better numbers in 2026 than he did in 2025 if the Browns are going to win more than five games this season. Cleveland does have a lot of young talent on the roster.
Browns improved offense
One of the issues with the Browns offense last season was the offensive line and the wide receivers. In the backfield, Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson are projected to be the top two running backs in Cleveland’s offense. Jerry Jeudy will be one of the starting wide receivers for the Browns. Rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston will also be starters for this team. Isaiah Bond will be also in the mix at wide receiver. Sanders might have a top target this season in tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
Michael Burton will be the Browns fullback. The projected starting offensive line for Cleveland will be Spencer Fano at left tackle, Zion Johnson at left guard, Elgton Jenkins at center, Teven Jenkins at right guard, and Tytus Howard at right tackle. Sanders should have a better supporting cast around him this NFL season.
