The Cleveland Browns quickly turned the page on the 2025 season, firing head coach Kevin Stefanski on Monday morning. Team owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Andrew Berry both spoke with the media after the announcement and emphasized how important the decisions in the next 120 days are for the future outlook of the franchise.
Among those decisions will be deciding on potential quarterbacks for next season.
Shedeur Sanders, who started the last seven games of the season for Cleveland, is an option, and everyone was eager to know how the Browns' leadership evaluated the rookie. Haslam refused to talk about specific players, but Berry opened up about his assessment of Sanders, and how he fits into the Browns’ future.
The general manager praised the fifth-round pick for making strides throughout the year, but said Sanders is still a work in progress, like most young players.
As far as the 2026 season goes, Berry admitted that he doesn’t know yet if Cleveland’s Week 1 starter is already on the roster or not, saying that the franchise will do work on quarterbacks in the offseason.
"We're gonna do our work on the quarterback market."#Browns GM Andrew Berry on QB Shedeur Sanders' progress this season and the future of the position: pic.twitter.com/MDq5tCRAIE
— Leah Doherty (@LeahDohertyTV) January 5, 2026
Andrew Berry compliments Shedeur Sanders, but leaves the door open for new quarterback
Berry emphasized that the Browns must solidify the quarterback position, and while that answer could ultimately be Sanders, it could also be a veteran who spent this season with another team, or a player that’s currently in college.
Berry even acknowledged that Deshaun Watson could still be amongst the options. The general manager was honest about not knowing the answer right now, and made sure to point out that the next head coach will be a big part of that decision.
This assessment from Berry shouldn’t really be a surprise, as Sanders would’ve had to pull off a miracle for the franchise to commit to him the day after the season ended. In reality, a win for the young quarterback was positioning himself to be an option for 2026, and he did that. In seven and a half games, the rookie completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while also rushing for 169 yards and one more touchdown.
The numbers are one thing, though, and the film is another. The film, which paints a more comprehensive picture, showed a talented, but young, quarterback who was navigating growth in less than ideal circumstances. In the end, that will likely result in Sanders having a real opportunity to compete for the job in 2026.
The thing Sanders did that may have helped him out the most is win three of his seven starts. Because of those victories, Cleveland has the No. 6 pick in the draft, with multiple quarterback-needy teams ahead of the franchise. That means the Browns may not have the chance to draft a worthy first-round quarterback, which could result in the team running things back with Sanders and adding a veteran to the room for competition.