Shedeur Sanders shows off his potential during the Cleveland Browns camp shootout between all of their quarterbacks.
The Cleveland Browns have a quarterback camp battle on their hands, with four different players fighting for the starting job. On Wednesday, the team had Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders, Kenny Pickett, and Dillon Gabriel all compete in the same drills, while Deshaun Watson nurses his Achilles injury. But the former Colorado Buffaloes star seemed to have the upper edge over his teammates.
Reports indicate that Shedeur Sanders went seven for nine while throwing three touchdowns during his turn in the quarterback shootout. Although he had fewer attempts than each of his teammates, the 23-year-old quarterback managed to own a higher completion percentage (77.7%) and had the most touchdowns on the day.
For comparison's sake, Gabriel was the only other quarterback to record more than one touchdown, but was also the only player who threw an interception. Flacco looked solid enough, but threw just one score, while Pickett had the lowest completion percentage and was the only quarterback not to throw a touchdown.
It's still early in the process, but so far, Shedeur Sanders has seemingly impressed the Browns. Despite being a fifth-round pick, Sanders has looked solid through minicamp. So much so, Cleveland could look to giving him the starting nod at some point in the regular season.
But it's an open competition for a reason. The Browns largely struggled in 2024 due to the issues at quarterback. When healthy, Watson didn't look all that great, and things didn't improve when Jameis Winston stepped in either. Although many believe that Flacoo, or even Pickett, could win the starting job to begin the season, Shedeur Sanders has a real chance at playing some games in 2025-26.
The common belief before the 2025 NFL Draft was that Sanders would be picked within the first two rounds. However, rumors suggest he didn't interview well during the draft process, as teams began noticing potential flaws in his game. However, Shedeur Sanders was a star-caliber quarterback at Colorado. He finished his final season with the Buffaloes with 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns through the air while owning an impressive 74.0% completion percentage.
Insider predicts Browns QB trade during training camp
NFL insider Jeremy Fowler discussed his thoughts on the Browns' QB future on the ESPN Cleveland radio station.
The Cleveland Browns are taking up a majority of the conversations after the 2025 NFL Draft. Why? The Browns not only selected Shedeur Sanders out of Colorado in the fifth round, but they drafted Dillon Gabriel ahead of Sanders in the third round.
After trading for Kenny Pickett in the offseason, the Browns now have four quarterbacks to choose from if you add Joe Flacco. Because the Browns drafted two quarterbacks, and the most popular name in the draft, many are speculating on what Cleveland will do with the quarterback room ahead of the start of the season. Deshawn Watson will not play this season.
NFL insider Jeremy Fowler discussed his thoughts on the Browns' QB future on the ESPN Cleveland radio station.
“They (Browns) look at quarterbacks like currency,” Fowler said. “If someone goes down in training camp, they have someone they can trade. Maybe it's Pickett, maybe it's one of the rookies. But I can see that maneuvering. I have a hard time thinking they keep four on the roster.”
Trading one of the quarterbacks would be a smart move on the Browns' side. It does not make sense to keep this many. It's understandable, knowing the Browns have still yet to find a franchise quarterback, but that won't be determined this season unless you see Sanders play extraordinarily.
Trading Gabriel just seems like the logical move. The Browns probably drafted Gabriel, not knowing Sanders would still be available later on. Because he was, the Browns decided to pull the trigger and draft the former Colorado QB. Sanders has all the intangibles to be a great player. Moving on from Gabriel could get you a draft pick, rather than stashing him away on the practice squad.
Unless Flacco gets cut, he will likely be the backup with his experience.
The Browns have plenty of options. We will see how training camp pans out on if Cleveland will send any of these quarterbacks to another squad.
