Shedeur Sanders named Browns' starting quarterback for rest of the season
Shedeur Sanders will start at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns for the rest of the season.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced the decision to reporters on Monday. Sanders has started each of Cleveland's previous three games. Stefanski had previously named him the starter each week leading up to a game. Now Stefanski has assigned him the starting job for the remaining four games on Cleveland's schedule.
"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. I feel good about where his development is heading.
"He knows there are always going to be plays where he can be better and those type of things. But he is very intentional about getting better each and every game he's out there."
Stefanski announced the decision on the heels of Cleveland's 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Sanders had his most productive performance as a pro in that game, completing 23 of 42 passes for 364 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception.
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The Browns scored two touchdowns on offense in the game's final six minutes. But they failed to convert a game-tying two-point conversion with 1:03 remaining, and the Titans won their second game of the season.
The decision quells speculation that Cleveland would consider starting Deshaun Watson, who has returned to practice from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered last season.
The Browns are 1-2 in games that Sanders has started, but he has shown steady improvement in each appearance since taking over for injured starter Dillion Gabriel in Week 11 against the Ravens. Sanders is now slated to start Cleveland's final four games against the Bears, Bills, Steelers and Bengals. All but the Bengals are in the playoff picture, providing Sanders with a tough test as the Browns assess their future at quarterback.
A fifth-round pick in April's draft, Sanders started the season as the No. 4 quarterback on Cleveland's depth chart and wasn't expected to ascend to the starting role. But the Browns traded Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco, and Sanders got his shot when Gabriel suffered a concussion against Baltimore. Now the Browns will give him a long run at the end of the season without the burden of a week-to-week starting status.
The Browns will have two first-round picks in next year's NFL Draft, their own and that of the Jaguars after April's draft-day trade that allowed Jacksonville to select Travis Hunter with Cleveland's assigned pick. Cleveland is expected to go into the 2026 draft targeting a quarterback. Sanders now has four more starts to convince them otherwise.