Tag: Shedeur Sanders

Browns tout ‘development,’ will stick with QB Shedeur Sanders

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Shedeur Sanders, the stage is yours for the rest of the 2025 regular season.

That was the message from Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on Monday. Cleveland committed to starting the rookie quarterback for the final four games one day removed from Sanders passing for 364 yards and three touchdowns against Tennessee in the Browns’ 10th loss.

“He has constantly and consistently gotten better in each one of these games and how he’s approached this game,” Stefanski said. “He’s been working very hard, so I feel good about where his development is heading. He knows there are always going to be plays that he can be better and those types of things. But he’s very intentional about getting better each and every game he’s out there.”

Sanders also ran for a score on Sunday in the 31-29 loss to the Titans, joining Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow as the only rookies with at least 350 passing yards, three passing TDs and one rushing TD in a single game since the NFL-AFL merger.

In four appearances, Sanders has completed 52.4% of passes for 769 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

“We’ve been around each other now going back to April,” Stefanski said. “The fun part of coaching is developing players and giving them tools to develop in certain areas. … I’ve been really impressed with his work ethic. That’s been a huge part of what we’re focused on with our rookies and all our players, player development. And when they embrace it, that’s the fun part.”

The decision keeps third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, drafted 50 spots ahead of Sanders in 2025, in the backup role and affords Sanders the opportunity to do something Deshaun Watson has done only once in Cleveland — start seven games in a row.

Jameis Winston started seven consecutive games last season for the Browns after Watson was the QB1 for the first seven but landed on injured reserve with a torn Achilles.

Watson is practicing with the Browns but not yet on the 53-man active roster as he recovers from two Achilles surgeries since he was first injured in October 2024. He started the final six games of the 2022 season, first serving an 11-game suspension after being acquired by the Browns from the Houston Texans.

In 2023, Watson lasted three games before he was inactive for consecutive weeks. He attempted to return and play through a shoulder injury but was shut down in mid-November.

–Field Level Media

Browns sticking with Shedeur Sanders for Week 13

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders won his debut start on Sunday, earning a second this week against the San Francisco 49ers.

Cleveland turned to Sanders with rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel in concussion protocol and unavailable for Week 12. Sanders completed 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards, one touchdown and one interception to help the Browns defeat the Las Vegas Raiders, 24-10, and snap a three-game losing streak.

“Obviously, the No. 1 job of a quarterback is to win,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. “So excited to get that first win under his belt. And the next thing is improvement. That’s what young players do. Certainly, young quarterbacks do. You get one game better. And that’s just from working at it. That will be our focus.”

Stefanski said Gabriel has cleared concussion protocol and will be the No. 2 quarterback this week.

With the QB call behind them, the Browns (3-8) get a head start on preparation for the 49ers, who play Monday night against the Carolina Panthers, in pursuit of their third home win of the season. Sunday was Cleveland’s first road win since Week 2 of the 2024 season at Jacksonville.

Cleveland jumped to a 14-0 lead over the Raiders on Sunday. Sanders was not at quarterback — or on the field — when the Browns punched in two touchdowns from the “Wildcat” formation, using rookie running back Quinshon Judkins on direct snap running plays.

Sanders was drafted 50 spots behind Gabriel by the Browns and was at the bottom of the depth chart when the regular season began. The Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals and named Gabriel the starter entering Week 5.

–Field Level Media

Browns to start rookie QB Shedeur Sanders vs. Raiders

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders gets his first career start on Sunday when the Las Vegas Raiders visit Cleveland for a matchup of two-win teams.

Sanders, who made his NFL debut last week, was elevated from the backup spot with fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel in concussion protocol. Gabriel went to the locker room after taking a hit in Cleveland’s 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week, forcing Sanders to enter the game in relief.

“Shedeur is going to start at quarterback. Dillon is in concussion protocol, but he is improving,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday. “Obviously we’ve got to put a plan together, for all of our guys — offense, defense and special teams — give our guys a chance.”

Sanders becomes the 13th quarterback to start for the Browns in Stefanski’s six seasons. He’s the 42nd starting quarterback for the Browns since they rejoined the NFL in 1999.

He will be at the controls of an offense that is next-to-last in the NFL in total offense (257.3) and passing yards (159.4). The Browns are 29th in the NFL in scoring (16.2 points per game), one spot ahead of the Raiders and Saints, who are tied at 15.5 points per game.

Sanders saw constant blitz pressure from the Ravens last week.

“You want to make sure that all the concepts are things that he feels confident in. Obviously, having been around him over the months, you get a good sense of the things that fit his eyes,” Stefanski said. “So, definitely want to lean into those types of things, and he’s working very hard.”

Gabriel, a third-round pick drafted 50 spots ahead of Sanders in April, became the starter in Week 5, unseating Joe Flacco for the role. He started six games and went 1-5.

Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, prompting Sanders to take on the backup job.

Last week, Sanders went 4-of-16 passing for 49 yards with an interception and was sacked twice in his debut.

He will get “every rep” with the first-team offense in practice this week, Stefanski said. Gabriel is unavailable to practice Wednesday.

Bailey Zappe is the No. 2 quarterback for the Browns this week.

–Field Level Media

Aug 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jamil Muhammad (45) chases Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) during the second half at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Report: Shedeur Sanders nixed Ravens’ draft plan

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When quarterback Shedeur Sanders heard the Baltimore Ravens planned to select him in the fifth round of the NFL draft in April, he let the team know he wasn’t interested, ESPN reported Sunday.

Sanders, a Colorado product, didn’t want to be in the same quarterback room as perennial MVP candidate Lamar Jackson, whose grip on the position is firm.

So with the No. 141 pick in the draft, the Ravens selected offensive lineman Carson Vinson from Alabama A&M and left Sanders, 23, on the board.

Baltimore’s AFC North rival, the Cleveland Browns, picked Sanders three spots later.

The Browns (0-1) and Ravens (0-1) meet Sunday in Baltimore. Joe Flacco, 40, won the quarterback competition with Cleveland and will square off against Jackson.

Dillon Gabriel, selected in the third round, is Flacco’s backup, with Sanders listed as third on the Browns’ depth chart. He was listed as inactive against the Ravens.

Deshaun Watson, still on the Cleveland payroll, is expected to miss the season with an Achilles injury. Watson, who turns 30 on Sunday, still is owed $86 million through 2026.

Former New England Patriots starter Bailey Zappe is on the practice squad.

–Field Level Media

Aug 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Browns GM says team plans to start season with four QBs on roster

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Cleveland Browns entered this preseason with the most intriguing quarterback room to monitor over the month of August.

Trading for Kenny Pickett, signing Joe Flacco in April and then drafting both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in this year’s NFL Draft. This left the Browns with four potential starting QBs who could take over for Deshaun Watson, who is on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list after sustaining his second torn Achilles in three months in January.

According to Browns GM Andrew Berry during the NFL Network broadcast of the team’s final preseason game Saturday, it sounds like Cleveland will enter the 2025 regular season with all four new QBs on the roster.

“Honestly, (keeping all four QBs is) not much of a decision for us. All four guys have done what we’ve asked… We have a room that we like all the guys in there,” Berry said. “We don’t really see that as a problem. We more see it as an opportunity.”

The 40-year-old Flacco was named the Browns’ Week 1 starter at Cincinnati Sept. 7 on Monday entering his 18th season in the NFL. Pickett was listed as the backup on the Browns’ initial depth chart but he suffered a hamstring injury early in training camp which kept him out of all three preseason games.

Flacco made his 2025 preseason debut in Saturday’s 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams, completing 9 of 10 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown pass. Gabriel was 12-for-19 with 129 yards and a TD while Sanders completed 3 of 6 passes for 14 yards.

If the Browns do keep all four QBs on their initial 53-man roster, they would be the first team to do that since the 2021 New Orleans Saints with Taysom Hill, Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian and Ian Book. All four of them wound up starting games for the Saints that season.

–Field Level Media

Aug 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) gets away from Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy (96) during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-The USAToday Network via Imagn Images

NFL preseason roundup: Shedeur Sanders stars in Browns debut

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders made an impressive pro football debut on Friday, throwing for two touchdowns while leading the Browns to a 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.

The game was the preseason opener for both teams.

Sanders, who started and played until the middle of the third quarter, completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards. He also ran four times for 19 yards.

The Panthers led 7-0 after a 5-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young to Jalen Coker late in the first quarter before Sanders threw his two scoring passes to give the Browns a 14-7 halftime lead. Each time Sanders connected with Kaden Davis, for 7 yards and for 12 yards.

Sanders engineered another TD drive in the third quarter before exiting with Cleveland up 21-7.

Tyler Huntley went the rest of the way at quarterback for the Browns, hitting on 6 of 8 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Young played the first two series for the Panthers and went 4-for-6 for 58 yards and the one score. Andy Dalton (13-for-19, 101 yards, one interception) and Jack Plummer (6-for-10, 79 yards) handled the rest of Carolina’s QB duties.

Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette and Browns safety Rayshawn Jenkins were ejected after throwing punches in the first quarter.

–Field Level Media

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) runs for a short gain during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.

Browns QBs Shedeur Sanders, Tyler Huntley to take reps in preseason opener

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders will start the preseason opener Friday when the Cleveland Browns meet the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.

Coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the move on Wednesday.

The Browns have five quarterbacks in camp, but only two — Sanders and newly signed Tyler Huntley — are expected to play against the Panthers.

Kenny Pickett and rookie Dillon Gabriel are nursing hamstring injuries, and Stefanski and staff already know what 40-year-old Joe Flacco can do.

Stefanski said a number of veterans are unlikely to take the field.

“It’s a great opportunity for all of our young players in that football game,” he said.

The Browns selected Gabriel, 24, in the third round of the draft from Oregon and Sanders, 23, in the fifth round from Colorado. Sanders, who played for his father, Deion Sanders, in college, had been considered a first-round talent.

Huntley, 27, started five games last season with the Miami Dolphins in place of an injured Tua Tagovailoa. He had a 2-3 record, completing 86 of 133 pass attempts for 829 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.

–Field Level Media

Reports: Shedeur Sanders to start Browns’ preseason opener

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Cleveland Browns plan to give Shedeur Sanders the start at quarterback in their preseason opener Friday at the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland.com and ESPN reported Tuesday.

The news comes just one day after Cleveland listed Sanders as its QB4 on the unofficial depth chart for the week and reportedly signed free agent QB Tyler Huntley.

However, Kenny Pickett and Sanders’ fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel are both dealing with hamstring injuries, and the team’s other quarterback, 40-year-old Joe Flacco, does not have much to prove in a preseason setting.

It’s unclear how severe Pickett’s and Gabriel’s injuries are. Sanders and Huntley may split the workload at Carolina if the Browns do not plan to play their other quarterbacks.

Sanders, 23, was widely expected to be a first-round draft pick and one of the first quarterbacks selected last April. Instead, he dropped to the fifth round, where the Browns drafted him 144th overall — two rounds after they drafted Gabriel from Oregon.

After a prolific college career playing for his father Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Colorado, Shedeur Sanders is battling for a roster spot. As of Monday, Sanders was the only QB yet to be given first-team reps.

–Field Level Media

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) runs for a short gain during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.

Browns QB Shedeur Sanders doesn’t want Deion at camp

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Shedeur Sanders is attempting to focus on the job in front of him at Cleveland Browns training camp rather than a potential visit from his famous father.

After Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders said in an interview that his son asked him not to visit him at camp, the younger Sanders explained why on Monday.

“I don’t want him coming to see me right now because I want to get to where I want to go, then for him to see me,” Shedeur Sanders told reporters. “I don’t want him to come and see me get a couple reps, and he is cheering like a good dad. Like, nah, you can’t be proud of me right now. I got to get to where I’m going, and I know it’s a lot I got to do to get there.

“It’s kind of like I just want everything that I’m doing is just focus on this time, and I don’t want no distractions because we know how the media, we know how everybody would take it and take away from the team, just from him being my own dad showing up. So, it is a gift and a curse at the same time.”

Shedeur Sanders experienced a precipitous fall in the draft after he was widely expected to be selected in the first round as one of the first quarterbacks off the board. He wasn’t even the first QB selected by the Browns, who chose Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round before adding Sanders in the fifth (144th overall).

Now Sanders is battling Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Gabriel for reps at camp. Sanders is the only one who has yet to receive first-team reps.

Some speculated that Sanders’ fall was the result of bad advice he received from his father, who was his coach at Jackson State and Colorado, and that NFL teams would not want Deion Sanders’ specter looming over their operation.

Deion did visit Shedeur’s brother Shilo at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ training camp. But he is also dealing with a full plate: He had his bladder removed due to a tumor earlier this year, and his Buffaloes are a few weeks away from their 2025 season opener.

“It was something that we really ain’t even have a formal conversation about because, it was like, ‘Y’all need to focus on what y’all can focus on. Can’t sit here and feel sorry for me, and then that’s affecting y’all doing that,’” Shedeur Sanders said.

–Field Level Media

Jun 12, 2025; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) listens to a play call during mini camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders cited for driving 101 mph

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Police cited Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders for driving 41 miles over the posted speed limit in the early hours Tuesday after the 23-year-old was clocked at 101 mph by the Strongsville Police Department in Ohio.

Police records indicated that Sanders was stopped at 12:24 a.m. local time for exceeding the 60 mph limit in his black Dodge TRX truck in Strongsville, located about 20 miles southwest of Cleveland.

As a result, he must either pay a $250 fine for the fourth-degree misdemeanor or dispute the ticket in court on July 3.

A projected first-round pick in April’s NFL draft after throwing for 4,134 yards (fourth in FBS) and 37 touchdowns (second) at Colorado, Sanders was selected by Cleveland in the fifth round after the Browns also drafted Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third.

–Field Level Media