Since being drafted last season, all eyes have been on Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Unfortunately, when your dad is a legendary football player, you’re always going to be in the spotlight. Sanders has tried to ignore the critics and haters, but it’s not always easy to do.
Sanders experienced a mixed bag of results during his rookie season in Cleveland. He made the Pro Bowl, but that selection probably came with more criticism than praise. Recently, Sanders took to social media to send a message to all his critics.
“When you look through this lens, you realize what validation really is and what it looks like. The most valuable thing we have is TIME. Let’s Start spending our time on things that actually matter in life. Invest that same energy into something sustainable and meaningful,” Sanders posted.
When you look through this lens, you realize what validation really is and what it looks like. The most valuable thing we have is TIME. Let’s Start spending our time on things that actually matter in life. Invest that same energy into something sustainable and meaningful.
— Ss2legendary (@ss2legendary) May 16, 2026
The spotlight has seemingly always been on Sanders since playing college football for his dad (Deion Sanders) at Colorado. After that, Sanders was extremely hyped up coming into the draft, but fell to the Browns in the fifth-round. The pressure was on Sanders to immediately live up to the hype of a top prospect, even when he was technically a late-round pick.
The 24-year-old made eight appearances (seven starts) for the Browns last season. Sanders threw for 1,400 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions during his rookie season. He also rushed the ball 21 times for 169 yards with an additional score. Whether he truly earned it or not, Sanders did earn his first Pro Bowl selection of his young career last season.
Now, the pressure is really going to be on Sanders coming into next season. He got a full year to get accustomed to the league and will have more pressure on him after earning some accolades along the way.
It’s unclear if Sanders is going to be the starting quarterback heading into next season. It sounds like the Browns want to give Deshaun Watson a shot to start, but Sanders and Dillon Gabriel likely aren’t going anywhere. There’s going to be a legitimate competition in camp to earn the starting quarterback role for Week 1.
At the end of the day, even if Sanders says and does everything right, there’s still going to be criticism. He needs to focus on doing the right things and keep his chin up and he’ll be just fine.
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