The Cleveland Browns are moving in a new direction next season with head coach Todd Monken, but they seem to be keeping to the ways of old, with Shedeur Sanders at quarterback. The Colorado product was the Browns’ last starter of the 2025 season after former head coach Kevin Stefanski went through Joe Flacco as well as Dillon Gabriel.
What makes Sanders the man of the future?
Shedeur Sanders Looks Poised to Win Browns’ Starting QB Job Over Deshaun Watson
The battle for the Browns’ starting quarterback position in 2026 is expected to be between Sanders and $230 million quarterback Deshaun Watson. While Sanders is the young prodigy who ultimately finished with the reins in his hands last season, Watson is still more experienced and, by many standards, more skilled.
NFL analyst Ken Carman, however, believes the Browns want Sanders under center.
“The people who are from a national perspective, I just don’t think they have the boots on the ground to understand how the city feels about [Watson starting],” he said on “The Ken Carman Show” (0:58).
“I think it’s the opposite — I think it’s Shedeur’s job to lose. And I think it was a good free agency for him, where you have new people coming in on the offensive line.”
If Sanders indeed outplays Watson for the starting job, his success next season could largely hinge on that of the offensive line. The Browns’ O-line allowed among the most sacks of all teams last season (49.9 PFSN O-Line Impact). The only thing hiding that is the fact that the team had three different starting quarterbacks.
“For Shedeur Sanders, this was a massive win. If they brought in Malik Willis that’d be a big time loss… I think it’s Shedeur’s job to lose.”@KenCarman & @SportsBoyTony say with the Browns adding O-linemen and not signing a QB, Shedeur is the winner of Browns free agency👀 pic.twitter.com/sbYXa9FSTJ
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) March 16, 2026
“[The 2026 O-line] are gonna be better [than] the old offensive line,” Carman added. “I specified, earlier in the show, the challenges that are laid out for [offensive line coach] George Warhop to try and get these players to play in the right direction, get these guys on the same page — you got new free agents.
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“Cause you can go one of two ways, obviously. You can have a really bad offensive line when you bring them up in free agency, [or] you could have a decent one.”
If Sanders is to develop into a proper NFL starter, the front office has to prioritize building a stable situation around him. His intangibles and physical skill set won’t improve if he’s not allowed to play the position naturally.
“Shedeur is used to running for his life,” Carman concluded. “He had to do it in Colorado. He had to do it to some degree last year. I wanna see him with a little more time.”
Sanders starting under center doesn’t necessarily inspire much confidence in the franchise making the playoffs next season. Perhaps the second-year shot-caller surprises the masses.
