Shedeur Sanders is working hard this offseason in an effort to wrestle the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback job away from Deshaun Watson. He showed off his potential in his seven starts down the stretch last season, but fans also saw a lot of the flaws that ultimately led to him slipping to the fifth round of the 2025 draft.
Despite throwing seven touchdowns and ten interceptions last season, many believe he is the best candidate to be Cleveland’s QB1. Regardless of what you believe, Sanders is one of the league’s most polarizing figures due to his confidence and due to his last name, so football fans rarely fall in the middle when it comes to how they feel about him. Most either love him or hate him, which is partly why one insider believes one of the most prominent narratives around the young QB needs to be put to bed.
While speaking on air for ESPN Cleveland on Wednesday, Tony Grossi expressed his displeasure of the narrative that Sanders is a victim. He believes it’s ridiculous that he has never been given the opportunity to be this team’s franchise QB and is sick of hearing about it.
“You’re not gonna like this, the ‘Shedeur is a victim’ storyline, that he hasn’t been given his chance, that he has to go out there with a bad offensive team, that he’s being rushed in, that he’s never been given the opportunity. I’m just saying I’m sick of that storyline,” Grossi said.
"You're not gonna like this, the 'Shedeur is a victim' storyline, that he hasn't been given his chance," – @TonyGrossi on the Cleveland sports storyline that he's tired of. pic.twitter.com/SZI3PTfc5S
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 22, 2026
There were a lot of loud opinions last season that Sanders wasn’t being given an opportunity to prove himself, but then when he did get into the starting lineup, a lot of analysts complained that he was being rushed and was put in a poor situation. You can’t have it both ways.
New head coach Todd Monken’s offense should fit his strengths a bit more than Kevin Stefanski’s did, and Monken appears to be taking a more hands-on approach to developing his young quarterback as well. Sanders wasn’t much of a priority last year given the fact that the Browns went into the season with four quarterbacks competing for the starting role, but the organization now has a much more vested interest in him as opposed to seeing him as a lottery ticket.
This victim narrative started on draft day when ESPN’s Mel Kiper hijacked the broadcast for three days pounding the table for somebody to draft Sanders, going so far as to directly call out front offices for not knowing how to do their jobs. To Sanders’ credit, he has done nothing but work hard and try to improve since joining the Browns, and that’s all you can ask for from a young quarterback.
NEXT: Todd Monken Reveals Browns' Confidence In Jared Verse
