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Shedeur Sanders was the 144th pick of the NFL Draft as the Cleveland Browns added him to their depth chart in the fifth round on Saturday afternoon.
The free fall lasted longer than expected, but Sanders finally found a home on the third day, starting the journey to become the team’s starting quarterback at some point during the 2025 season.
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders, #2, before the game against the North Dakota State Bison at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, on Aug. 29, 2024. (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)
He will join a quarterback room that has Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Deshaun Watson’s status in 2025 is murky at best after re-injuring his Achilles in the offseason. Watson suffered an Achilles tear last October.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry divulged his expectations for each quarterback the team brought in during the offseason.
“We expect every player to compete. Simple as that,” he said.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked how he was going to ensure each of the four healthy quarterbacks were going to get a fair shot.
“We’ve talked about it. I mean there’s ways to do both I think,” he said. “Obviously you may not divide them 25, 25, 25, but we feel really confident that we’ll have a plan that is fair to each player and fair to the team as well.”
The Browns acquired Pickett in the offseason in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. He served as a backup for Jalen Hurts with the Eagles and received a ring when the team won the Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs in February. He previously started with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the team selected him in the first round of the 2022 draft.
Cleveland brought Flacco back after he went to the Indianapolis Colts in 2024. He took over for an injured Watson in 2023 and helped lead the Browns to the playoffs. Flacco won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, #4, is carted off the field after being injured in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
SHEDEUR SANDERS PRANK CALL CONTROVERSY YIELDS STUNNING DEVELOPMENT
The Browns selected Gabriel in the third round on Friday. He played his college ball at UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon. Last year with the Ducks, he had 3,857 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He also holds the FBS record for most touchdown passes thrown in a career.
Berry explained why the team decided to take two quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
“I think just like I could probably say the plan wasn’t necessary to take two running backs. Like, you envision how the draft could possibly play out, and then you just really adjust to what’s on the board,” Berry said. And like I said, like we don’t really go into the draft saying okay, like, ‘hey, here are our needs and we’re just going to pick players at need positions.’
National team quarterback Dillon Gabriel of Oregon, #8, pauses after practice during Senior Bowl practice for the National team at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, on Jan. 28, 2025. (Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images)
“If you do that’s typically how you make mistakes. So, there is a little bit of a flow to the weekend because the board does take different twists and turns as you go. Some expected, some unexpected and, ultimately, we try and do everything in our power to maximize the impact of the picks we have in aggregate. And part of the reason you have to do that is being flexible.”
Sanders will have an uphill battle in an attempt to attain the starting job – and a roster spot – once the season begins officially later this year. However, it is far from impossible.
“I know I’m going to fit in perfectly,” he told reporters. “I feel like it’s first getting in, showing respect to the vets, showing them I’m here ready to work. Show the coaches and have them understand, I’m here ready to work. So they could actually understand the real me.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, #15, throws the ball against the Chicago Bears during the first quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Dec. 17, 2023. (Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett calls a play during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
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“That’s what I’m truly thankful to have, is the opportunity for people to actually see the real me and not be able to see stuff that could be true or not. That’s what I’m most excited about being in the building and of course the staff, the cafeteria [staff], everything was extreme, the people there were genuine. It was real cool. So I left that visit knowing that if that was the place for me, I would feel real comfortable with what they have in place.”
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