Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is tuning out the noise amid the offseason debate about his future.
Sanders is coming off what was an interesting rookie season. After falling to the fifth round in the draft, Sanders found himself buried on the depth chart in Cleveland. But Sanders eventually earned his shot, starting the final seven games of the season.
Sanders went 3-4 in those starts, passing for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He showed some upside with his playmaking ability but also had some rookie bumps.
“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability. That’s in him,” new Browns coach Todd Monken said. “You’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. You saw it in college. You saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go. But what rookie isn’t, I mean, what first year player doesn’t have a long way to go? So, I’m excited to get started with him and all of our quarterbacks and all of our players.”
Recent Shedeur Sanders Criticism Stirs Debate
Sanders has been an obvious topic of conversation this offseason, with the Browns not committing to him as the starter. Jason Lloyd of The Athletic stirred up some drama by highlighting what he’s heard about Sanders.
“I’ve talked to enough people and heard a lot that isn’t very good,” Lloyd said on The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. “What am I supposed to do with that? Am I supposed to play dumb and come in here and say, ‘Play the kid, let’s give it a shot’? When you hear over and over that he doesn’t watch a ton of film, that he had to be shown how to study film, that he doesn’t know when he’s hot or what he’s looking at in coverages — am I supposed to ignore all that?”
Lloyd took some heat for the comments but doubled down on his stance.
“I’ve been doing this 25 years,” Lloyd said. “I have never seen a story like this where what is said behind the doors and the public narrative is this far off. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s stunning in so many ways.”
Sanders seemingly responded to the situation with a social media post.
“Learn to value the opinions of those who care about you, not the noise from everyone else,” Sanders said on X.
Browns Will Have Open Competition for Starting QB Spot
Sanders is the perceived frontrunner for the QB1 spot as things currently stand. However, the Browns have been careful not to anoint a starter and plan to have an open competition.
“Sure, I think it’s an open competition,” Monken said. “I mean, I don’t why it wouldn’t be an open competition. I don’t mean that saying it harshly, but I don’t think there’s enough on film over the last couple years one way or the other to say, boy, we have our starter at quarterback yet. Whether internally or externally.”
Monken has openly expressed his admiration for Watson and his past success, earning three Pro Bowl nods during his time with the Houston Texans. Watson is heading into the final year of the $230 million fully guaranteed contract. However, he hasn’t played a full season since 2020 and missed all of last year recovering from two Achilles surgeries.
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Sends Clear Message Amid Controversy