The 2025 NFL season was a nightmare for the Cleveland Browns. Their disastrous 5-12 season was made worse by the QB struggles. At the beginning of the regular season, three QBs were competing for the QB1 spot: Veteran Joe Flacco, 2025 draft picks No. 94 Dillon Gabriel, and No. 144 Shedeur Sanders. All got their chance to show up; however, none stood out.
Insider Tony Grossi Sheds Light on the Browns QB Situation and Shedeur Sanders’ Future
Flacco’s bid ended early as he was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals. Gabriel took over the sport, and terming his performance ‘bad’ would be an understatement. When Sanders received the chance, he did better, but not well enough.
To be fair to Sanders, he ended the season with a 3-4 record, the best among the Cleveland starters throughout the campaign. Despite that, he remained on the wrong end of history. According to analyst Shawn Iyer, the rookie finished with an 18.8 QB rating, the worst in Cleveland’s franchise history with a minimum of six starts. Does this mean the Browns need a new QB in 2026?
According to veteran ESPN Cleveland insider Tony Grossi, the Browns don’t have enough answers about their quarterback situation right now, as it hasn’t been fully analyzed. In a conversation with insider Jake Trotter on ESPN Cleveland’s radio, they spoke about how Sanders cannot be ruled out for the Browns.
Trotter asked, “Tony, where are you at with Shedeur? If you go back and look at QBR, going back to 2006, Shedeur has the 2nd-worst single-season QBR of any quarterback in the NFL. How much do you put that on him and his potential versus offensive scheme and supporting cast? And how does that impact the way you think about him going forward?”
Grossi said, “I think we need to see more, plus we have (Todd) Monken and a new system and a new coach,” pointing out that there are not enough games to tag Sanders as an asset or liability to the team.
“And a coach who likes Shedeur coming out of the draft clearly. I mean, Baltimore tried to take him,” Trotter added, pointing out the favoritism ex-HC Kevin Stefanski exhibited, trying to make Gabriel work for the team. Well, that’s what most fans believed.
After playing more games, Grossi feels the Browns and their fans will have a clearer picture. “You’ll have to see that through. But after this year, you know whether Shedeur is the guy or not,” he said.
“If you and you look at QBR going back to 2006, Shedeur has the second worst single-season QBR of any QB in the NFL,” – @Jake_Trotter on the Browns QB situation.
Do you think the Browns should build around Shedeur for 2026? pic.twitter.com/SlnPXxti44
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) February 20, 2026
The concerns of the Browns analysts are legitimate. The situation has never been worse, and it’s not about the season standings; it’s about the confusion surrounding the franchise’s future.
The quarterback is the centerpiece of every attack. Teams try to stick to their franchise quarterback as they orchestrate the play.
The constant changes make building an attack difficult, costing the team crucial momentum during the season. And as it can be figured, losing momentum directly translates to lost games.
While Sanders has performed better than Gabriel in most situations, ‘worse’ and ‘worst’ fall on the same side of the track. According to the PFSN NFL QB Impact metrics, Sanders ranks 46th while Gabriel ranks 47th in the league. They have 56.9 and 51.0 impact scores, respectively.
While there is no insider information on the Browns’ picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, Sanders deserves a full season of thorough monitoring.
