Shedeur Sanders has more than his fair share of detractors, but after his rookie season with the Cleveland Browns, one thing seems to be certain. His teammates like him quite a bit.
Ever since he shockingly fell into the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, critics have stated their reasons why he doesn’t deserve to be a starting quarterback. Even though it took much longer than he would have liked, Sanders did ascend to that role, and it looks like he could keep it, at least to begin next season.
Speaking on Richard Sherman’s podcast, Browns cornerback Denzel Ward sent a confident message about Sanders, saying that he could “grow into a great player.”
“He’s got all the confidence in the world. I think you need that at the quarterback position. I think he’s going to continue to develop and grow into a great player. Just his growth and his willingness to want to learn and get better, I think is going to go a long way for him,” Ward said.
The @Browns QB’ @ShedeurSanders with a BRIGHT future! CB @denzelward believes so
#ClevelandBrowns #DenzelWard #NFLfreeAgency pic.twitter.com/LAXegi623S— Richard Sherman Podcast (@RShermanPodcast) February 19, 2026
As some of his other teammates have also mentioned, Ward was impressed by Sanders’ work ethic and demeanor. He could have handled being the low man on Kevin Stefanski’s depth chart in a completely different way, but he took a mature approach and simply prepared for his opportunity.
It came when Dillon Gabriel was put into concussion protocol in a Week 11 game. Sanders then started the next week and in the six games that followed.
Though his shortcomings were glaring at times, the Browns more than doubled their win total with three victories in his seven starts. Sanders showed improvement in some areas, such as his completion percentage and avoiding large sacks, but still struggled in others, particularly with interceptions.
Despite almost drafting Sanders as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator, new Browns head coach Todd Monken has not committed to a starting quarterback for his first season. That means, if no one is added to the mix during the offseason, Sanders will likely compete with Deshaun Watson for the starting job.
As expected, people have some strong opinions about that possibility as well. Those from outside the organization differ greatly from those on the inside.
But no matter what, Sanders is likely to keep working and do everything he can to hold on to the job.
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