The Cleveland Browns quarterback saga will likely run to Week 1 and beyond.
In recent weeks, all eyes have been on an NFL franchise that finished with a dismal 3-14 record last season, and much of the buzz has been around their bolstered signal-calling corps.
The Browns have a crowded QB room and will need to decide a starter for 2025GettyAfter all, the Browns have one of the most crowded quarterback rooms in the league.
With $230million DeShaun Watson expected to miss much of the 2025 season through injury, familiar veteran Joe Flacco returned in April, having previously been on the roster in 2023.
He arrived after the Browns secured Kenny Pickett in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles a month earlier, and two more rookies have since been signed.
Dillon Gabriel was drafted in the third round, and he was followed by the 144th overall pick, Shedeur Sanders.
On paper, the latter’s draft position would suggest he’d be scrapping for a back-up role at best with the Browns, but Shedeur is no ordinary rookie.
He had the biggest profile coming into the 2025 draft, and despite suffering an all-time slide, there has been plenty of talk about him being the starter in Cleveland.
ESPN’s Aaron Goldhammer has suggested he could even play in Week 1, arguing that the 23-year-old has been ‘the best quarterback out there‘ during some practice sessions.
That idea has been dismissed by many other reporters, with Flacco expected to suit up against the Cincinnati Bengals on opening Sunday.
Sanders, though, undoubtedly represents star power in Cleveland right now. And according to Fox Sports broadcaster Colin Cowherd, that matters an awful lot.
He believes the Colorado Buffaloes prospect will get his chance, and even picked out a key date in which it will happen.
Sanders has been touted for the Browns starting role after arriving in the draftGetty“This owner, Jimmy Haslam, drafted Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield, and signed DeShaun Watson to an egregiously bad contract,” Cowherd said on Monday.
“He is desperate for a star at quarterback, he wants a star there.
“Kenny Pickett’s got no juice, Dillon Gabriel is 5-foot-8, Joe Flacco is old. Shedeur is the only potential star.
“If you look at the first five weeks, it’s five top 10 offenses, then Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh.
“It’s a lot of dynamic offenses, and if they’re dull in the first six weeks, my take is that Jimmy Haslam is going to make a call.
“I think Shedeur, the star power will matter. In 90% of markets it doesn’t matter. In Cleveland it does. Shedeur, by Week 8, is starting.”
Flacco is the presumed Week 1 starter, but Sanders could later take the jobGetty Opinion on Sanders is split, however, with some claiming he needs to developAs he made his prediction, Cowherd pointed out that the Browns have one of the weakest offensive rosters in the NFL, and are often boring to watch.
He then concluded: “You know what would make them less boring? Shedeur Sanders taking the snaps, win or lose.”
While Sanders proved in college that he has the kind of star power that Cleveland owner Haslam clearly wants, that alone shouldn’t be enough to justify the starting role.
In fact, Cleveland radio analyst Tony Grossi has thrown cold water on the excitement around him, describing Shedeur as a ‘developmental quarterback’.
“The media are doing Shedeur a disservice by inflating where he’s at right now,” the veteran broadcaster said.
“He’s a developmental quarterback, just like Dillon Gabriel — he’s not a franchise quarterback.”
Debate around Sanders and the Browns will only intensify as the 2025 NFL season draws closer.
Some are buying into the hype, and others clearly aren’t. But in the end, Cleveland’s starter will be decided by Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, and perphaps come Week 8, team owner Haslam.
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