Browns owner Jimmy Haslam could push for Shedeur Sanders to start in bid to erase Deshaun Watson trade disaster

It came as a shock to many when the Cleveland Browns used their final pick of the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft to select Shedeur Sanders.

For much of the draft, it appeared the former Colorado quarterback might fall completely off the board. Once projected as a first-round selection — including as a potential fit for the Browns at No. 2 overall — Sanders instead slid all the way to pick No. 144.

In a twist, Sanders fell into Cleveland’s lap after the team had already shifted its strategy and selected Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

“Shedeur — we talk often about quarterback being the most important position in the sport,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said, per CBS Sports. “We felt like it wasn't necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks, but we do believe in best player available, we do believe in positional value, and we didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round.”

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Now the question becomes whether Sanders can not only win the starting job — but even make the 53-man roster. According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, that decision may come down to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.

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“If he wants Shedeur, he’ll likely get Shedeur,” Florio wrote. “Making him the starter will validate the organization’s decision to prioritize analytics over all other factors in adding to the roster a rookie who will complicate the broader dynamics of the establishment of a 53-man football team for 2025.”

Florio added that it’s likely the Browns begin the season with a veteran — either Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett — under center, depending on how the schedule shakes out.

But Haslam could view Sanders as the centerpiece to redeem multiple past mistakes. That includes his highly criticized trade for Deshaun Watson — who is not expected to play this season after re-tearing his Achilles.

“Think of how San Francisco’s discovery of Brock Purdy with the last pick in the 2022 draft obscured the horrible decision they made a year earlier to trade up for Trey Lance,” Florio wrote. “If Sanders pans out, the Browns will have a significant counterbalance to the Watson fiasco.

"That’s the biggest consideration looming over all of this. The same team (owner) that stubbornly refused to admit failure as to the Watson trade (but finally has) could be desperate to fashion success from the drafting of Shedeur Sanders. And that could result in Sanders making it onto the field far sooner than later."