Many Cleveland Browns fans are getting their long-awaited wish on Sunday as fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders will make his first career start in place of Dillon Gabriel, who is out with a concussion. He’ll look to avenge his brutal debut last week against the Ravens.
Sanders completed just four of his 16 passes last week for 47 yards and an interception while taking a pair of awful sacks and dropping a fumble, but with a week to prep, the hope is that he’ll look much better against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Despite the bad half of football, many still believe in Sanders, including Derek Carr.
During a recent episode of Home Grown With David & Derek Carr, the two former QBs discussed Sanders and his upcoming start. Given their history in the league and the poor situations they had to fight through, it means a lot when they say that Sanders is going to figure it out.
“He’s gonna be fine. When you give him time, he can read something out and find a completion. He’s got guys around him that can teach him this stuff,” Derek Carr said.
🔥 Shedeur. Former NFL QBs Derek & David Carr Believe in #12 💛
"He's gonna be fine. When you give him time, he can read something out and find a completion. He's got guys around him that can teach him this stuff" https://t.co/xuaMZ2SYX7 pic.twitter.com/wIJArw2C0G
— JaKi 🇺🇸 (@JaKiTruth) November 21, 2025
A Full Week Of Prep Could Change Everything For Sanders
Sanders has talent around him, but as he said after last week’s game, he hasn’t thrown any passes to the starters all year, even in practice. Having a week to get on the same page as his new weapons and time for the coaching staff to design a game plan around him, Browns fans will be looking to see if their new quarterback can shred the Raiders like the Cowboys just did on Monday Night Football.
The one point that Carr brought up that could be challenging is the idea of giving Sanders time. He had a poor offensive line in college and came into the league with a bad habit of holding onto the ball too long, which happened at times in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week.
Certainly, if the Browns’ O-line can step it up, Sanders has the ability to make big plays down the field. However, they will have their hands full with Maxx Crosby and company.
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