Off an impressive Preseason Week 1 performance, Shedeur Sanders is getting plenty of NFL buzz. After all, the Colorado QB was a prime standout, had an electric college career, and led the Browns to a 30-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in his first (admittedly, unofficial and preseason) action on Friday. The Browns’ QB room isn’t exactly the late 1980s San Francisco 49ers, where future Hall of Famer Steve Young sat behind future Hall of Famer Joe Montana.
But even with a fairly ho-hum stable of QBs to choose from and a horrific history of losing, the Browns won’t throw Sanders to the wolves of the NFL’s defenses. Here are five reasons why the outstanding young passer won’t be the man for Cleveland in 2025, outstanding preseason debut notwithstanding.
Top 5 reasons Shedeur Sanders won’t start for the Browns in 2025
1. Don’t assume that the preseason means anything
Yes, Shedeur played well in the preseason game against Carolina. He led a group of reserves against a group of Carolina reserves. That’s to say that he played okay against a group of bench players from one of the league’s worst teams; frankly, many of whom will be working jobs other than playing football in the future.
Here’s a full list of QBs with higher QB ratings than Shedeur Sanders yesterday: Kyle Allen, Easton Stick, Emory Jones, Tyler Huntley, Bryce Young, and Ben Woolridge. Except Young, none of those guys are likely to see meaningful action this season.
2. Joe Flacco isn’t in Cleveland to sit
The Browns may genuinely love Sanders’ upside, but there’s another player whose upside is clear. Joe Flacco has won two Super Bowls as an NFL quarterback, which is, of course, two more than Cleveland has ever won. Yes, Flacco is 40 years old. Yes, Flacco’s upside is severely limited. But he’s the guy who Cleveland signed to give them experience and postseason opportunity. Sanders isn’t passing him up on the depth chart.
3. For that matter, Kenny Pickett has both more experience and a higher upside
Arguably overlooked in the Browns’ depth chart is former Steelers QB Kenny Pickett. Pickett, who was a first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022, sat out the preseason opener with a hamstring injury. Pickett had a couple of uneven seasons starting for the Steelers, but he does have two years of NFL experience. There are also clear signs that he could still be an excellent NFL QB, think Geno Smith, but in Cleveland.
4. Dillon Gabriel might yet outshine Sanders
The “other” rookie in the picture here is the one who was drafted ahead of Sanders, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel. Like Pickett, Gabriel sat out Week 1’s preseason game due to a minor hamstring injury. But Gabriel’s college production was just as impressive as Sanders’ and he doesn’t have the baggage of ties to Coach Prime and possible behavior scandals that caused a massive NFL Draft slide.
Yes, Sanders was sharp in his first action. But at least until Gabriel gets a shot to match or exceed him, pump the brakes on the Shedeur expectations.
5. Even if Sanders ultimately IS the guy for Cleveland, the time isn’t now
The bottom line is this: Shedeur may well be the guy for Cleveland in the long term. But he isn’t in the short term. Pickett himself could speak to the situation. When a team throws a rookie QB onto the field, it’s not always doing him a favor.
Plenty of other young passers are still trying to crawl out from trainwreck performances from throwing them into action too soon (Bryce Young and Will Levis would be two). Sanders might be best on the bench.
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