Shedeur Sanders made his unexpected NFL debut for the Cleveland Browns last week when Dillon Gabriel went down with an injury. He has now been named as their starter for Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders, despite his disastrous performance in his first game. This sparked one analyst to share a bold take on the polarizing rookie.
Shedeur Sanders’ High Stakes in First Start
Gabriel suffered a concussion last week that forced him out of the game for the Browns. He will reportedly be unable to clear the protocols in time for their Week 12 game against the Raiders.
This has resulted in Sanders making the first start of his career after a massively disappointing debut last week. Chris Broussard addressed what it could mean for his future and also explained why NFL teams don’t like this rookie quarterback during a ‘First Things First’ episode.
“We have to accept that NFL teams don’t like him. Every single team passed on him multiple times. We’ve seen guys that can be distractions, guys that people didn’t like their personality, and if they’re talented, teams pick them. These tams continued to pass on him round after round.”
He added, “There’s the potential for distraction. The last thing you want from your back-up quarterback is a distraction, and it’s not all his fault, but some is… If this doesn’t go well in Cleveland, the type of team that he would have to go to, would be a team where there’s a superstar starter. If he goes to a place where the quarterback is not solidified, he will always be a distraction,” explained Broussard.
“Everything imaginable.”@getnickwright explains what’s on the line for Shedeur Sanders this weekend: pic.twitter.com/tlrhOa5ufb
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 20, 2025
Sanders was initially projected to be a top-ten pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but ultimately slid all the way to the fifth round. The Browns took as their second quarterback in the draft after also picking Gabriel in the third round.
Broussard reminded everyone that every team had the opportunity to draft Sanders multiple times, and all of them passed. He speculated that he wasn’t necessarily talented enough for them to ignore his polarizing personality and everything that comes along with having him on a roster.
Gabriel has been awful this year, ranking 37th of 38 qualified quarterbacks in PFSN’s Impact Rankings, but his struggles haven’t been enough for them to make a change to their other rookie. He completed just four of 16 passing attempts in his unexpected debut last week, which may explain why the Browns have been reluctant to get him into a game yet, and why many teams passed on the idea of him as a starting quarterback.
