Kevin Stefanski finally admitted what fans have been saying about Shedeur Sanders

When it comes to dealing with the media, Kevin Stefanski’s been as consistent as any head coach in the NFL. It’s something some of his Cleveland Browns players — mainly quarterback Shedeur Sanders — could learn from.

Browns fans can’t stand it, but Stefanski’s a master at answering reporters’ questions without saying anything of real substance. He does, however, consistently protect his players and coaches from blame, and almost always keeps it about the team when he speaks.

He’s certainly taken that same even-keeled approach at the podium when asked about Sanders, his fifth-round rookie QB who moved to 1-4 as a starter following Sunday’s tight, 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills. 

Stefanski’s company line on Sanders has centered largely on him being a young quarterback, doing some good things, having some plays he’d like back, and just continuing to learn. He’s stopped short of heaping much public praise on Sanders; in fact, it took a couple weeks for the coach to officially name Sanders Cleveland’s QB1 for the rest of the 2025 season.

There was a noticeable change in tone following the Buffalo game, though. Stefanski echoed what Browns fans have been saying about their promising young QB who’s been shoehorned into an impossible situation.

Kevin Stefanski broke his usual script when talking about Shedeur Sanders after Bills loss

No one expected the Browns to score many points against the Buffalo Bills, which entered Week 16 with the NFL’s No. 2 ranked pass defense. When Cleveland lost starting running back Quinshon Judkins to a brutal leg injury in the second quarter, the Browns’ plight got even harder. 

But as Stefanski lauded after the game, Sanders battled. He shook off some poor throws and decisions — and an ugly injury to the pinky on his throwing hand — and led back-to-back scoring drives to bridge the fourth quarter and pull the Browns within three points with 8:46 remaining.

Yes, Sanders and the Browns did fall short on two fourth quarter drives that could’ve either tied the game or taken the lead. But facing a well-coached Sean McDermott defense that’s known for limiting explosive plays through the air, Sanders clearly took the coaching this week and adjusted with a wide array of check-downs and intermediate throws that helped his team move the chains — Cleveland had 22 first downs in this game compared to Buffalo’s 16 — and actually out-gain Josh Allen and the explosive Bills’ offense. 

Stefanski definitely noticed — and he showed it by keeping the ball in Sanders’ hands on a risky fourth-and-2 call on the wrong side of the 50.

The coach then doubled-down on his growing belief in Sanders during his post-game press conference.

"He battled like he does," Stefanski said. "I thought he made some unbelievable plays with his feet today, which I thought, going into the game, that may be the case. He'll fight through injuries. Little finger injury's not going to keep him out of there. Always room to grow for a young player, but really proud of how he fought."

Stefanski has used phrases like “he battled” and “always room to grow” when discussing Sanders publicly on multiple occasions. He hasn’t used many buzz words like "unbelievable” and “really proud” at the podium too much, though.

For the Browns, there are no moral victories (although, fans may disagree when looking at the updated 2026 draft order). Cleveland’s current 6-26 stretch over the last two years has been brutal for everybody, and Sanders has now thrown eight interceptions and taken 15 sacks in his five-plus game appearances this year.

But for a franchise that has multiple roster voids on offense, and one egregious contract that’s making things tough from a salary cap standpoint, the best-case scenario is for the belief in Sanders to continue to grow, as the team continues to build a more professional group around him in 2026. 

This is hard to say coming off another loss, but Stefanski’s words on Sunday feel like a major stride in that direction.