The hype around Shedeur Sanders has always been unreal.
After his college career at Colorado, many believed he was in line to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, all 32 teams thought differently, and he fell all the way to the 144th overall pick. The attention, however, followed him all the way from Jackson State to Colorado to Cleveland when he made his way to the league.
Shedeur Sanders Brings Too Much Attention
While he has spent the majority of his NFL career on the bench, Sanders’ popularity hasn’t waned.
Jason Lloyd believes Sanders’ fame is an anchor around his future with the Browns, who just named Deshaun Watson as QB1.
So far, Sanders hasn’t proven himself to be a viable starting option in the NFL. During the 2025 season, he got the starting job in Week 11, but failed to make a real impact in that role. Instead, he finished the season with more interceptions than touchdowns. He ranked second-to-last on PFN’s Quarterback Impact Metrics.
During an appearance on “92.3 The Fan,” Lloyd explained why Sanders’ popularity among the masses could become a headache for the Browns moving forward.
“The path for Shedeur is narrowing to have any sort of legitimate future in Cleveland. It’s not gone, but it’s narrowing. He’s not the starter now,” Lloyd noted, before explaining his rationale.
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“You’re not gonna bring Shedeur back with a rookie quarterback in 2027. He’s the most popular celebrity QB in the league as a backup. You can’t have that in the room if you’ve got a guy that you believe in that you’ve taken with a top 5-10 pick, whatever it is.”
“The path for Shedeur is narrowing to have any sort of legitimate future in Cleveland. He’s the most popular celebrity QB in the league as a backup. You can’t have that in the room, if you’ve got a guy that you believe in that you’ve taken with a top 5-10 pick, whatever it is.”… pic.twitter.com/6woiiBdclH
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) August 25, 2026
“The Browns can say whatever they want to say about the progress Shedeur has made. It all sounds wonderful. Their actions tell you what they think. Because they’re going through [expletive] with Deshaun rather than put him out there.”
Rather than focusing on him individually, the attention would immediately shift to Sanders after virtually every disappointing performance. The prospect of the Colorado product then becoming a viable starter seems unlikely given his recent performances.
It could be a similar situation to the one the NFL saw with Tim Tebow. Despite revitalizing the Denver Broncos enough to transform them into a playoff team, he was far from the finished product. As a result, he did not last long in the league, but his popularity sustained.
Each of the teams that he was on had to constantly deal with the microscope around him. A similar trajectory could be unfolding for Sanders, jeopardizing his future altogether.
