We’ve reached the point in the Cleveland Browns’ 2025 season where all fans can do is cling to some form of hope.
Maybe it’s Myles Garrett, who’s on pace to become the greatest defensive player in NFL history. Maybe it’s a rookie class led by linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who ESPN just named the No. 1 player from the entire 2025 draft (he was the 33rd overall pick, by the way). Maybe it’s Shedeur Sanders, who’s already defying the odds as a fifth-round pick who, in Year 1, is about to start his third game.
Anything will do during this 3-9 start to the season, and for most Browns fans, the Sanders storyline is the one generating the most buzz with five weeks to go.
As brilliant as Garret is — and he’s somehow hitting another level this year ahead of his 30th birthday — the Browns haven’t won many games over his nine years in the league; Cleveland is 56-87-1 since Garrett’s rookie year in 2017, when the Browns finished 0-16, and they only have two playoff appearances over that span.
It’s all about the quarterback in this league. Since the Browns cut ties with Baker Mayfield to pursue Deshaun Watson — a franchise-crippling decision the team is still literally paying for — a player like Sanders, with elite NFL bloodlines and something to prove, is definitely worth planning your Sundays around.
Sanders has been far from perfect, as he clearly has a lot to learn in terms of NFL timing and pocket presence. Over his first 136 snaps as a pro, he’s taken four separate sacks for a loss of 10-plus yards. He’s also completed five explosive pass plays of 25-plus yards, including gains of 34, 52, and 66; two of those five big plays resulted in touchdowns.
There’s been enough there so far for Browns fans to cling onto, but ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell took a sledge hammer to those hopes and dreams this week with a brutally honest assessment on Sanders’ NFL trajectory.
According to one expert, Shedeur Sanders mania could be short-lived in Cleveland
There’s no denying the raw talent with Sanders, but would he really be starting games this year if Dillon Gabriel didn’t go down with an injury in Week 11?
Barnwell isn’t even sure Sanders can develop into a full-time starter in the league, never mind right now.
“Not so far,” he wrote on that very topic. “The 23-year-old has been below average or worse across the board by just about every measure of quarterback play. We've seen some of the bad habits Sanders showed with taking big sacks at Colorado and in the preseason. He isn't exactly surrounded with great infrastructure in Cleveland, to be fair, but Sanders' 11.8 Total QBR ranks 31st out of 32 quarterbacks over the past three weeks. …
Is Sanders going to do enough to convince the Browns that he should be their long-term quarterback? Probably not, given where he was drafted and how he has played so far. Adequately running an NFL offense over the rest of 2025, though, might be the difference between Sanders quickly washing out of the league or getting an extended run as a backup and occasional spot starter.”
It's hard to argue the premise of Barnwell’s point, as Sanders was once the QB4 in training camp behind Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Gabriel, and would have probably benefited from a year of development on the bench.
With Watson’s future still a complete mystery (he’s currently under contract through 2026 with a looming salary cap hit of $80-plus million), the Browns will most likely be active once again in the quarterback market, either looking to add a veteran or take another swing at the position in the draft with one of their two 2026 first-round picks.
For now, Sanders holds the keys and could start flipping the narrative with a more efficient performance against the burnable Tennessee Titans this Sunday. He’s facing a steeper uphill battle, though, than Browns fans can stomach admitting right now.