Many expected Shedeur Sanders to be a top-10 pick heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, but he slid all the way to the fifth round to the Cleveland Browns at pick No. 144.
Instead of being a franchise savior right out of the gate, he has instead found himself in a four-man quarterback competition he is unlikely to win, and former NFL player Emmanuel Acho recently named two key factors that are preventing Sanders from starting in Week 1.
“In the NFL, there are two primary Ps. The first one is politics. The second one is posturing. Even if Shedeur is the most talented quarterback, it might be politics that keep him from starting Week 1. What might those politics be? Hey, we’ve invested $4 million into Joe Flacco, politics number one. Hey, we traded for Kenny Pickett, politics number two. Hey, we drafted Dillon Gabriel in the third round, and Shedeur in the fifth round, politics number three. Posturing, is Tommy Rees saying this because it’s true or because he’s trying to posture?” Acho said, via “The Facility.”
.@EmmanuelAcho says there’s 2 things that could keep Shedeur Sanders from starting:
Politics & Posturing pic.twitter.com/PFBcY0zhs5
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) June 5, 2025
It’s also possible that Sanders won’t be starting in Week 1 because he isn’t ready and isn’t the best quarterback on the team, but that isn’t a useful narrative for a daily sports talk show.
Starting a fifth-round rookie quarterback in the season opener is generally not a wise move, especially when you look at the teams the Browns have on the schedule over the first eight weeks.
It makes all the sense in the world for Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett to be the starter until the Week 9 bye, and at that point, if things aren’t going well, it could be time to hand the offense to one of the rookies.
If Sanders proves he is the best quarterback in camp and is ready to go for Week 1, then head coach Kevin Stefanski might let him start, but nothing so far has shown that will be the case.
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