Shedeur Sanders was one of the most talked-about names at the 2025 NFL Draft—but not for the reasons he had hoped.
Once viewed as a first-round lock and widely regarded as the second-best quarterback prospect behind Cam Ward, Sanders unexpectedly slid to Day 3. He was finally selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round—after the team had already taken quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third.
The fall was so precipitous that some NFL insiders suggested Sanders return to the collegiate ranks (even if he had to violate the rules to do so), while former players were convinced the league was involved in a collusion conspiracy against the Sanders family.
Now buried on a crowded depth chart, Sanders may need to play the best football of his life just to earn a shot at the Browns’ starting quarterback job.
NFL Analyst: Shedeur Sanders Has ‘No Chance’ to Start Week 1 for Browns
On the latest episode of FS1’s “Breakfast Ball”, hosts Mark Schlereth and Danny Parkins brought up the wildly crowded quarterback room in Cleveland, which features Sanders, Gabriel, veteran free agent signing Joe Flacco, offseason trade acquisition Kenny Pickett, and, by virtue of his unmovable contract, Deshaun Watson.
Both analysts agreed that Sanders would start the quarterback competition as the dark horse to grab the starter job, though fellow host Craig Carton took it one step further, suggesting that Sanders has no realistic chance at taking the field in Week 1 of the upcoming NFL season.
“I think Joe Flacco is the front-runner to start Week 1 just based on having the amount of years of service, and the fact that for the Cleveland Browns [and especially head coach] Kevin Stefanski, this is probably a hot seat year for him,” Carton argued.
“Look, I think this is the best situation for Shedeur Sanders to become a starter, because that [QB] room is not great. Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and obviously Dillon Gabriel, but [Sanders] ain’t starting Week 1. He would have to have the greatest summer of any quarterback in history for Stefanski to put his career on the line.”
The segment ended with the trio of hosts agreeing that Sanders could eventually become the Browns’ starter, though Flacco has the obvious leg up thanks to his recent success in Stefanski’s offensive system.
.@markschlereth: "On the table Shedeur starts Week 1?"
"How do you start him over a guy you drafted 2 rounds before?" — @DannyParkins
"He would have to have the greatest summer of any quarterback in history for Stefanski to put his career on the line." — @craigcartonlive pic.twitter.com/3wbCt6oAg6
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1)
Sanders is coming off a dominant season, leading the Big 12 in completion rate (74.0%), passing yards (4,134), and passing touchdowns (37). The production is there, which is why he was a highly regarded QB prospect heading into the draft cycle.
However, a quarterback is expected to be a leader on and off the field, and Sanders’ history of throwing teammates under the bus and not taking accountability for his mistakes — which, as Colin Cowherd revealed, bled into his combine interviews — rightfully concerned teams about his intangibles and leadership qualities.
Sanders is obviously as talented as anyone else in Cleveland’s quarterback room, but he’ll have to prove himself as a worthy option if he wants to gain Stefanski’s favor.
