The people who support Shedeur Sanders as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback this season use many reasons to justify their viewpoint. But they all basically come down to the idea that all he needs is a real chance to show what he can do.
The narrative goes all the way back to training camp last year, when it seemed like head coach Kevin Stefanski was going out of his way to limit Sanders’ opportunities. As part of a four-man QB competition, there weren’t enough practice reps to go around, and as a fifth-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders was the odd man out.
Now, as part of a two-man battle with Deshaun Watson, there are more reps to go around, and Sanders seems to be taking full advantage of them, especially in the final portion of minicamps and OTAs. He has been able to extend Todd Monken’s decision on this year’s Week 1 starter into training camp, raising the belief that Sanders will ultimately win the job.
Former player Tyvis Powell has a strong belief in Sanders’ breakout because, as a rookie, he was able to perform without enough practice time.
“The reason that I’m more optimistic about Shedeur than a lot of you guys are is because I’m not naive to the fact that the whole what happened with him and Kevin, not getting the reps, having to learn things on the fly, y’all look at it as a guy who didn’t put up the statistics that you want. I looked at it as a guy who, on the fly, got better. That just comes when you get reps. That’s why, to me, I’m a little optimistic because he’s getting reps this offseason. The more that he does it, the more it slows down, and I’m hoping that it clicks for him right before the season starts or at some point in the season,” Powell said.
“The more that he does it, the more it slows down, and I’m hoping that it clicks for him right before the season starts or at some point in the season.” 👀🏈
Whew… @1Tyvis gets all the way real and detailed about why he’s so optimistic about #Browns 2nd-year QB Shedeur… pic.twitter.com/r0m4FXiEuI
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) July 7, 2026
Sanders may never have gotten off the bench if Dillon Gabriel had not entered concussion protocol in the Browns’ Week 11 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Powell praised Sanders’ NFL debut, even though he completed just four of 16 pass attempts and the offense generated just 64 total yards with him in the game, losing 23-16 after holding a halftime lead.
That kind of justification is common among Sanders supporters. So, it is worth analyzing Powell’s optimism with a significant amount of salt.
However, there have been encouraging reports about Sanders’ improvement, particularly in the pre-snap responsibilities and passing progressions he struggled with as a rookie. Whether he can make up enough ground in those areas to beat out Watson and succeed this season remains to be seen.
It may be Sanders’ best chance to establish himself as a viable NFL starter, so he needs to take full advantage of it.
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