For weeks, Browns fans had been waiting to see whether Shedeur Sanders’ flashes of brilliance would turn into something real. After climbing from QB4 in camp to delivering back-to-back solid performances, capped by a season-high 364 yards and three touchdowns against Tennessee, that wait finally ended.
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Kevin Stefanski has formally announced that Sanders will start the remainder of the 2025 season. “He has constantly and consistently gotten better in each one of these games,” the Browns HC said, praising the rookie’s growth.
And the numbers match the optics, as the Titans game saw Sanders deliver a bounce-back performance after completing 64 percent of his passes against the 49ers. He also kept Cleveland alive multiple times during Sunday’s game. However, Shannon Sharpe has his doubts about Stefanski’s announcement.
On an episode of Nightcap, the former Bronocs TE suggested that Stefanski’s decision had as much to do with Cleveland’s brutal remaining schedule as it did with Sanders’ trajectory.
“I really hate to feel this way,” Sharpe said, adding, “but a part of me is like… yeah, we’ll let him start the rest of the season… oh Bears, Bills, Steelers, Bengals.” He even went as far as imagining what Shedeur’s reaction should be after his HC’s announcement: “If I was Shedeur, I’d be like, nah, I’m good. I already showed y’all what I can do. Put Dillon in there.”
To Sharpe, the Browns are setting up Sanders to fail. The logic is simple: if Stefanski always intended to hand him the job, he wouldn’t have waited until Week 14.
“Why couldn’t you name his a** the starter three games ago?” Sharpe asked. “Every time Kevin don’t want to answer a question, he says, ‘I don’t want to get into that,’” he added.
However, Chad Johnson pushed back on that idea, saying Sanders earned the job and that it had nothing to do with politics.
The ex-Bengals WR even defended Stefanski’s hesitation, arguing that after Shedeur’s shaky debut against Baltimore (4/16 with a pick), the coach had to see whether the rookie could sustain positive momentum. “After the first game, and they asked him if he’s going to start the next game… he wanted to see if he could do it again,” Chad said.
And then Shedeur did exactly that, first in a win over the Raiders, then with encouraging strides against San Francisco, and finally with a breakout performance versus Tennessee. “Shedeur gave you no choice. Can you imagine after these last games, if he was benched? You talk about losing your locker room at that point,” Ocho emphasized.
Shannon Sharpe tells Chad Ochocinco that he believes the Cleveland Browns are trying to set Shedeur Sanders up by letting him start the remaining games of the season, with their next games being the Bears, Bills, Steelers, and Bengals. pic.twitter.com/wap1O0XEs1
— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@chatnigga101) December 9, 2025
But what about the tough stretch ahead? In Johnson’s eyes, it’s one of the best things for Shedeur, as it would test him and help him develop better. “I want him to play against the Bears, Bills, Steelers, Bengals. I want him to show that I’m a competent quarterback… at the highest level as a rookie if given the right amount of time to prepare,” Johnson insisted.
So while Sharpe saw the announcement as the Browns tossing a rookie into the deep end, Ocho saw it as a rightful promotion earned through resilience, improvement, and locker-room respect.
Either way, the truth is simple: Shedeur Sanders now owns the job. And with the Bears, Bills, Steelers, and Bengals looming, he’s about to face the most defining month of his football life.
And if you are truly a Shedeur well-wisher, it’s hard not to get excited about how well he will do against these superior opponents. Safe to say, exciting times are coming for Shedeur’s fans and haters.
