It seems like time is running out for Shedeur Sanders. After a historic draft-day fall, where he went from a presumed first-round pick to being selected 144th overall, it signaled a brutal start to his NFL tenure.
Then, a long quarterback competition saw him earn the starting quarterback role after Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel had already gotten some burn. Now, as he engages in another battle, this time with Deshaun Watson, the growing sentiment is that he’s losing the QB1 moniker.
Shedeur Sanders’ Chances of Winning QB Battle Are Running Out
During his time on the field last season, Sanders tallied 1,400 passing yards and 7 touchdowns while costing the Browns 10 interceptions. A passer rating of 68.1 showcased how rough it was for him on the gridiron, as he ranked second-to-last on PFN’s QB Impact Metric with an impact score of 63.0.
Still, with no realistic alternatives, it seemed like the Browns would give him a chance to prove himself this season. Otherwise, they could easily pivot to a high-end draft pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
But new head coach Todd Monken gave an equal opportunity to Watson to prove himself, and all signs point to the three-time Pro Bowler winning the starting role. For Mike Florio of NBC Sports, though, the problem comes from Sanders’ mentality.
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“I think he’s just trying to be a little chill, a little nonchalant. I don’t know what they’re trying to wake up in him,” the veteran voice of “Pro Football Talk” confessed.
However, he believed that the organization was hoping for something miraculous from the Colorado product.
“I feel like this whole exercise is ‘Okay, we’ve got this guy in Deshaun Watson who can play at a certain level when healthy and who knows how long he’ll be healthy based on recent history, and we’d like to coax the other guy to perform at a higher level,'” Florio added.
Unfortunately for the Browns, it just hasn’t come to pass. Florio continued, “And they keep waiting and waiting and waiting for Shedeur Sanders to seize the job, and he just hasn’t.”
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The insider believes the awakening needs to come from Sanders, rather than anything that his team can do.
“At some point, he’s got to understand, this is the moment. This is the most important, and it’s funny because he does tend to show up more on game days. He needs to have that gameday mindset and attitude on all these other days and show up and seize the job that he hasn’t seized yet.”
So far, through practice, it has become clearer by the day that Monken is leaning toward Watson as the starter. Even in their preseason game against the Chicago Bears, Watson had a clean game with 126 passing yards, while Sanders threw a pick in just 11 passing attempts.
Unless he can change the narrative and find a second gear seemingly out of nowhere, the Browns are speeding toward giving Watson another year under center, while the second-generation star could become a footnote in a hurry.
