With five quarterbacks on the Cleveland Browns roster, with four of them being healthy due to Deshaun Watson’s injury, there are a few ways the organization could go. Shedeur Sanders looks to be the potential star of the group regarding the long-term future, but there are certainly questions about that, too.
Sanders has to prove that what he did at Colorado is suitable in the NFL, but there’s reason to believe that it could happen.
For Sanders, it might take a few years for him to be a starting quarterback. That isn’t a knock on his talent or anything else, but the Browns have so many veteran quarterbacks in their quarterback room that it would make sense for one of them to win the job. Some have suggested that Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco will, but Watson potentially playing if things fall that way when he returns from his Achilles injury can’t be counted out due to his contract.
However, despite that, ESPN’s Kimberley Martin predicted that Sanders will be the starter, stating that there are people inside of Cleveland’s building who believe he has a chance to be a special player.
“In that building, there are people who believe that Shedeur can 100 percent be the starter of this football team,” Martin said, per USA Today. “You said it’s incumbent upon the Browns to put him in the situation. It’s also incumbent upon Shedeur to do the work, which, talking to people in that building, they’ve said he is soaking up everything like a sponge.”
How Does Cleveland Feel About Sanders?
There have been some conflicting reports about Sanders and the Cleveland Browns; however, for the most part, the feedback has been positive. Whatever people had to say about him prior to the draft seemed to be false, as Sanders is doing whatever it takes to learn from the Browns and the players around him.
And Martin isn’t the only one who believes that Sanders has an opportunity to start for the Browns. Louis Riddick, another ESPN analyst, believes that if he gets enough reps, Sanders is talented enough to change the way things look in Cleveland.
“If he can compete with Dillon Gabriel, if he can compete with Joe Flacco, he can compete with Kenny Pickett,” he said, per the Akron Beacon Journal. “There’s a very good chance that if this is an organic competition with the level playing field, he could be your starter Week 1. No question about it.”
What Are Sanders’ Chances at the Starting Job?
If the Cleveland Browns have a quarterback competition, there’s a scenario where Sanders could win the job. However, it’s also important to factor in that Sanders might not get a full-on opportunity to win a job.
Even if the team gives him reps in the third and fourth string groups, that might not be enough for the Browns to justify playing him.
FOX Radio host Colin Cowherd is another one who believes that Sanders will win the job, adding that he’ll basically have to lose it, indicating how many believe he’ll, at the very least, get a chance.
“You’re going to have to basically lose that job in the preseason and I think he will. Sanders will play better than him the preseason. I think that right now, I think Flacco starts probably the year as quarterback. At some point though, Sanders overtakes him and gets [in], because Flacco gives you only so much, right? There’s not a lot of upside in that,” he said.
