NFL news: Shedeur Sanders talks being named Browns’ starting QB

Shedeur Sanders was officially named the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback on Sunday.

Sanders will make his NFL debut against the Las Vegas Raiders after starting off Dillon Gabriel, who suffered a concussion last Sunday. Sanders, who had a brief but tumultuous NFL tenure, could barely contain his excitement ahead of Wednesday’s practice.

“It’s going to be exciting. I know a lot of you will be there. You can’t miss it. You can’t miss this moment. It’s going to be absolutely exciting. We’re going there with a purpose; we’re mentally prepared, no distractions, no nothing. I’m going to be excited.”

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Head coach Kevin Stefanski is doing his best to make sure the fifth-round pick is “comfortable” in his newfound role.

“You always try to do that with all your players – make sure they’re comfortable. It’s no different with Shedeur. You want to make sure all the concepts are things he feels confident in. Being around him for months, you have a good sense of what suits his eyes, so to speak. So you definitely want to lean into those things, and he’s working hard as well,” Stefanski told reporters on Wednesday.

Last week was Sanders’ first in-game action since the preseason, which was limited for the Colorado graduate due to a shoulder injury. Things didn’t go well as he completed just four of his 16 pass attempts, intercepted the ball and clearly looked a bit uncomfortable.

“I’m my own biggest critic…” Sanders told reporters shortly after Stefanski’s speech. “Will there be mistakes? Of course. But there won’t be that many. Just try to minimize them as much as possible.”

Head coach Kevin Stefanski talks with Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders during training camp at the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on July 26, 2025 in Berea, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

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But Stefanski said Sanders took as many notes as possible and bounced ideas around with the rest of the quarterback room.

“It is clear that more time and more repetitions are always better,” Stefanski said. “I think as quarterbacks they sit in that room, they watch a bunch of tape. So you watch the receivers and sometimes you can’t get the rep, but you see how these guys come out. So that’s what you have to do as a backup. That’s what Shedeur does, all our players do. When you don’t get that rep, you just make mental notes to yourself about how the guys are coming out of timeouts. And there’s a lot of dialogue around that, especially with the quarterbacks.”

Sanders said he gained “a lot” of knowledge during film sessions with Stefanski and the coaching staff, but the best experience for him was getting on the field.

“I’m a person who likes to feel more. This is how I learn. This is how I do everything,” he said. “I’m not just going to watch and it’s going to happen. No, I have to be there, I have to feel, I have to move. These are so many details, I have to feel my best and play my best. And I’m doing everything I can and the team is doing everything I can to get ready.”

When asked if Sanders had a chance to stay in the starting lineup by performing well against Las Vegas, Stefanski said he was “focused on this game.” Sanders echoed similar sentiments.

“When you start moving so fast in life, sometimes you miss the little details of things, so I don’t want to miss anything,” said Sanders, who was ranked in the top five overall and then advanced to the fifth round.

Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns warms up before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field on November 16, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

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But Sanders, who will soon become the team’s 42nd starting quarterback since returning to Cleveland in 1999, frankly hopes and anticipates that he is the future of a team desperately searching for an answer.

“I know our fans have a lot of expectations and hopes. And if I don’t feel like I’m that person, I would be doing myself and the organization a disservice,” Sanders said. “I’ve done everything I need to prepare and be the best version of myself – I’m doing everything I need to do. Everything needs to be stepped up under these circumstances and that’s great. I love the pressure in life.”

“I’m excited about everything. I feel like I’m that guy — I know I’m that guy. But you know, you’ll just have to see. The game needs to do the talking.”

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