The Cleveland Browns will finally roll with Shedeur Sanders. The rookie out of Colorado got his first taste of NFL action in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens after Dillon Gabriel left with a concussion, and he’s now slated to start against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Shedeur struggled mightily in his first appearance, completing just 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards with one interception, one fumble, and two sacks.
Rob Gronkowski Predicts Shedeur Sanders Will Win His First Start
However, as tough a watch as that may have been, Rob Gronkowski believes he can’t be judged objectively because of the lack of first-team reps.
Talking to Kay Adams on her “Up & Adams” show, the legendary tight end showed his excitement for Sanders finally getting a shot, and he thinks a week of prep will work wonders for him:
“I’ve been waiting for Shedeur Sanders to have his opportunity in the NFL. I mean, last week was a disaster– what did he have, like four completions for 16 yards? But, I mean, it was already a disaster of a game,” Gronk said.
“Now, he’s got a week to prepare, he has a week to, you know, get the knowledge of the playbook and the plays that they’re gonna run and design for him as well. Because as a quarterback, you gotta design plays for him because he’s got that type of talent. He can run the ball as well because he’s got that athleticism, so this is the week that we can judge his performance.”
Gronk expects Shedeur Sanders to get a win in his first career start and take over as the Browns QB1 👀@RobGronkowski | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/cunxL5PhOT
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) November 19, 2025
Sanders, like all other backup quarterbacks, had never gotten any reps with the first team, and it was painfully evident in the loss.
Gronk also predicted that Sanders would make the most of a matchup against a weak Raiders team, and he thinks it might be enough for him to be the starter:
“You can’t ask for a better opportunity to, you know, have your first career start and is going against the Raiders, who are possibly– not possibly– they’re one of the worst teams in the NFL right now,” Gronk said. “So, I think he gets a win, and I think he stays consistent and he remains the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.”
The bar isn’t particularly high in Cleveland. Dillon Gabriel has the second-worst PFSN Impact Metric grade among eligible quarterbacks (50.6), so even though head coach Kevin Stefanski seems committed to him, the starting job could be there for the taking.
