Shedeur Sanders breaks silence on Browns’ quarterback battle

Shedeur Sanders knows about the decades-long list of failed quarterbacks in Cleveland, those tasked with saving the franchise only to move on after failed efforts.

“I feel like the Browns fans they just want something to hope for and they’ve been wanting it so long and long,” Sanders told the team website. “And finally, I’m here to change that, I’m here to actually get what they want.”

Sanders has been saying all the right things since joining the Browns last month after falling to them in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but these latest candid remarks offer a glimpse of how he’s viewing the quarterback battle that will engulf the team this summer.

The ex-Colorado star will seemingly compete with veteran Joe Flacco, former first-round pick Kenny Pickett and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel to be the team’s Week 1 starter.

Incumbent starter Deshaun Watson may miss the 2025 season after undergoing two surgeries after rupturing his right Achilles tendon.

Sanders took second reps behind Gabriel at the team’s minicamp this past week, but Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said he would not place much stock in that.

The controversial quarterback yet again told the Browns’ website he plans to change the franchise, echoing comments he made before the draft after doing so with both Jackson State and Colorado.

Sanders, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, already told reporters he views his career playing out like that of Tom Brady in the sense of emerging as a late-round pick.

“I’m here to work and win,” Sanders said. “I think everything off the field, that’s going to handle itself. On the field, of course, that’s where I want my personality and that’s what I want to be known for, is the one that came here and changed the franchise.”

The season is still months away, though, and Sanders said he’s now focusing on immersing himself with the franchise and establishing a positive rapport.

He said several times he plans to be a great teammate.

“I’ve been built for this moment, year by year … it don’t feel new to me, at this point,” he said. “I understand I got to go in here, I got to learn, establish myself, be a great teammate, I got to get all the elephants out of the room with anybody, with anything, any type of problem, what they heard or anything.

“It’s normal to me. I’m in my environment here, I got my resources here … I don’t think anything’s too much of a problem.”