Now that the season is over, fans and analysts can look back at how the Cleveland Browns performed and comment on the good, the bad, and the very ugly. There is plenty to discuss.
One conversation point that keeps coming up is the rookie run of quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Entering the season, he was one of the most talked-about young players in the league, and people were expecting great things from him.
However, his first campaign wasn’t a runaway success as some people had hoped for. It got off to a very late start, was filled with adversity, and didn’t give much clarity about what’s ahead for Sanders and the Browns.
Speaking on The Top Dawgs Show, former Browns star Hanford Dixon said that Sanders’ first year left a sour taste in his mouth, and he doesn’t appreciate how it was handled.
“I don’t like the way this whole thing with Shedeur Sanders came down. Regardless of who was behind the whole thing, I just didn’t like the way we handled Shedeur coming in—preparation, playing, why it took so long for him to play. We could clearly see that Dillon is not the quarterback that we thought we had. I’m sitting here watching this s**t like what am I blind or something?” Dixon said.
"I'm sitting here watching this shit like what am I blind or something?" #DawgPound@HanfordDixon29 reasons that playing Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders got Kevin Stefanski fired. 😂 pic.twitter.com/KtFZMEOGLq
— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) January 7, 2026
Sanders ended up playing in eight games for his rookie campaign, completing 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,400 yards. There were definitely bright moments, but there were also plenty of missteps and signs that Sanders hadn’t fully adjusted to playing in the league.
Sanders didn’t take to the field until mid-November, a move that didn’t sit right with many people, including Dixon. Again and again, head coach Kevin Stefanski was given the opportunity to call on Sanders and, again and again, he elected to go with other options, including Dillon Gabriel, another rookie QB with many problems of his own.
Some people saw this as incompetence from Stefanski, while others viewed it as the team being unsure of what Sanders could achieve. But there is no doubt that Sanders could have used more time on the field to improve his skills, find better chemistry with his teammates, and create a stronger confidence in himself.
The fact that Sanders had to wait months to play will never make sense to some people because it feels like it was wasted time that could have laid a path to a better future for the team and its weak offense.
Now, Sanders and the Browns are entering the offseason without a clear plan, and no one is sure if he is keeping his job or if a new starting quarterback will replace him next year.
NEXT: Insider Warns Browns About Interview With Mike McDaniel
