The potential pathway for Shedeur Sanders from fifth-round pick to a starting quarterback in the NFL is a fascinating one. What once seemed like a certainty with his positioning as the second-best quarterback in his class behind Cam Ward, has become a major question mark thanks to his draft day slide. From the first round, the son of the legendary Deion Sanders fell to the 144th overall pick.
Since then, it’s been an arduous journey for the Colorado Buffaloes superstar to earn his spot on the Cleveland Browns roster. As he continues his march in the QB1 battle, head coach Kevin Stefanski hasn’t given a clear indication of what the future holds for the Browns’ quarterback position. However, a breakdown from one of the lead NFL insiders might be the clearest insight into Sanders’ situation. And it isn’t too bright for the rookie.
Will Shedeur Sanders Fall Behind the Others?
Typically, preseason is a time for teams to iron out some kinks and get a sense of what the future holds for their current roster. In some cases, it offers teams a chance to make a choice in a position with some unusual depth.
However, for the Browns, it has been a wholly unique premise as they walked into training camp with four legitimate options vying for the QB1 spot. After Deshaun Watson was declared out for the entire 2025 season, the team needed a replacement.
The front office responded by bringing Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Sanders into the mix through free agency signings, trades, or the 2025 NFL Draft. Now, all four men are engaged in a fierce battle to earn the starting job.
Ian Rapoport was at Cleveland’s training camp, taking a lay of the land. His first inference about the quarterback situation was the work put in by the veteran among the group, who he believes is going to be the starter in Week 1.
“Joe Flacco looked awesome. He really looked, truly excellent. Seems to be the front-runner to be the starting quarterback right now.” However, his major focus was the work he’d seen from Sanders so far.
“He’s gonna need a redshirt year,” He began his assertion, before softening up a bit. “Got talent, got a really nice deep ball, the Browns have been impressed physically.” However, there are a few problems that immediately jump out to Rapoport.
“He’s gotta get his body to a point where it’s an NFL body. As of Saturday, his arm was a little sore from throwing, which can happen, but it doesn’t happen to a ton of NFL quarterbacks. He’s got some work to do.”
Rookie QB 🤝 Seasoned Alum@BernieKosarQB sits down with @ShedeurSanders to talk about his first NFL Training Camp and more pic.twitter.com/L44X52VTBf
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 4, 2025
Even amongst the criticism, though, there was one shred of optimism for all Sanders fans. “They think he can be really good,” Rapoport said in reference to the organization as a whole. For the time being, the baton might go to Flacco.
But, after months of speculation, it looks like the possibility of Sanders emerging as a legitimate starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL is real.
