Shedeur Sanders has tightened the screws on the quarterback competition with Deshaun Watson over the course of OTAs. Throughout the offseason, it seemed like Watson had a stranglehold on QB1 duties for the Cleveland Browns, but Sanders has worked hard and impressed the new coaching staff in practice enough to convince new head coach Todd Monken to take a little more time to decide who his starter is going to be.
Sanders started seven games down the stretch and threw seven touchdowns and ten picks over the course of the season. This is going to be a pivotal year for him with the Browns having two first-round picks in a loaded 2027 draft where they could bring in a new quarterback, but he doesn’t sound rattled whatsoever.
ESPN Cleveland recently shared a clip of Sanders dropping some wisdom while he was out in nature. His perspective provided some insight not only into Cleveland’s QB battle, but also displayed a good mentality to go through life with in general.
“How do people in life be in good situations and don’t feel good or they don’t be in the best situation but could feel better than the person that’s in a great situation? It’s not even really about what situation you’re in. It’s about what you think in your mind and what’s your reality, and not live in the reality of the world. Look at things differently. Knowing everything don’t really matter, but what matters is your purpose in life, what you on this earth for,” Sanders said.
.@ShedeurSanders dropping wisdom 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/UkGJYSoMus
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 1, 2026
Cleveland’s strong front office deserves some credit for ending Sanders’ slide in 2025’s draft. There was a lot of negativity surrounding the young quarterback, but it has become clear during his year with the Browns that a lot of that was just noise as he has been a valued member of the locker room and the community.
He has the right mindset heading into the most pivotal year of his career that could be his last chance to prove himself as a potential franchise quarterback. He may not win the starting job out of the gate, but Watson hasn’t proven he can be relied upon for 17 games, so it’s fair to expect Sanders will be heard from at some point even if he doesn’t win the starting job right away.
It’s encouraging that Sanders has impressed the coaching staff enough to make this a real QB competition. Only time will tell whether or not he wins, but either way, his attitude has been encouraging and he has the right mentality to have a long and successful career in the NFL.
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