Many Cleveland Browns fans are disappointed that Shedeur Sanders was unable to pry the starting quarterback job away from Deshaun Watson, but given Watson’s history, it would be surprising if Sanders didn’t take over the job at some point in 2026. He has reportedly made notable improvements compared to last season, and we’ll all just have to wait a little longer to see if he can prove it in a regular season setting.
Of course, due to his last name and the attention he naturally generates, there are always narratives around Shedeur Sanders that may or may not be true. One of the common narratives around him is that he struggles to operate within the system and goes off script, but that narrative saw some pushback recently.
During a recent appearance on The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima, Emory Hunt vouched for Sanders’ development. He said that the criticism of Sanders’ organization hasn’t shown up during preseason and Sanders did a strong job getting the ball out quickly and pushing it down the field.
“I will say this, too, just to push back on that comment that everybody’s talking about [Shedeur Sanders]—the organization, the breaking the huddle. You would’ve seen that manifest itself on the field. We didn’t see that happen in the preseason games. I’m not gonna make an indictment on Shedeur Sanders’ entire skill set as a quarterback. Once the ball snaps, what did we see? We saw him push the ball down the field. We saw him make great reads. We saw him get the ball out of his hands quickly,” Hunt said.
"Once the ball snaps, what did we see? We saw him push the ball down the field…"
➡️ @FBallGameplan w/ @KenCarman and @SportsBoyTony pushes back on the talk around Shedeur Sanders needing to be better, operationally https://t.co/wYhqbfTBEB pic.twitter.com/xuwzedInvy
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 2, 2026
Holding the ball too long and playing out of structure have been some of the biggest criticisms of the young quarterback. There is a thin line between being an improvising gunslinger and being a QB that is deemed hesitant and reckless, and sometimes that just boils down to the results.
Until Sanders consistently produces as a starter and generates more touchdowns than interceptions, he won’t get the benefit of the doubt in the narrative department. Results mean everything and this franchise has been through enough pain at the quarterback position, so while Hunt is defending him here, Sanders still threw a pair of picks in his limited preseason action, one of which was concerningly bad.
As exciting as many fans are about him, he still has more to work on and needs more time. Given the fact that Watson has 19 starts since 2020, that time could come sooner than most think, and if it doesn’t, perhaps he’ll ultimately have to hold out for an opportunity elsewhere.
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