Shedeur Sanders had a stellar season in 2024 with the Colorado Buffaloes under the leadership of his father, Deion Sanders. Sanders threw for 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, earning him the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award. However, his journey with the Cleveland Browns has been full of struggles.
The former Colorado quarterback was listed behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel on the Browns’ quarterback depth chart but eventually played eight games, making seven starts, during the 2025 NFL season. Despite showing promising signs, Sanders failed to secure the QB1 role and found himself in a quarterback battle with Deshaun Watson during the 2026 offseason.
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
The quarterback battle ended in heartbreak for Sanders, as Todd Monken recently announced his decision to name Watson the Browns starting quarterback for the 2026 NFL season. While Sanders impressed in the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, Watson’s “full body of work” earned him the starting role.
Sanders has received another unfortunate update after losing the Browns’ starting quarterback job to Watson. ESPN’s Jordan Reid, in his 2027 NFL mock draft, has projected the Browns to trade with the Miami Dolphins for No.1 Overall Pick for Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. With Watson’s contract ending after 2026 season, Sanders could potentially find himself in another quarterback competition for the 2027 season.
Reid wrote in the article, “I had the Dolphins trade out because they recently invested in Malik Willis. While a lot depends on Willis’ performance this season, Miami does already have a promising young quarterback. Unless Shedeur Sanders makes a massive leap in Year 2 (which seems unlikely), the Browns do not.”
“Deshaun Watson’s contract ends after this season, as well, making this a perfect time for Cleveland to take another swing at that elusive franchise QB to join the young talent it has accumulated in the past couple drafts,” he added.
Sanders can’t control what the future holds, but he can prepare himself for an opportunity if Watson falters throughout the season.
