In Cleveland, the wait for Shedeur Sanders’ NFL debut has turned into a saga. Once the centerpiece of Colorado’s offense under his father, Deion Sanders, Shedeur entered the league with tremendous fanfare. But 10 weeks into the 2025 season, he has yet to throw a pass in a regular-season game for the Cleveland Browns.
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Fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel has been given the nod ahead of Shedeur, hinting that the Browns and Kevin Stefanski are skeptical about the former Buffaloes star. On Cleveland.com, Dave Bacon addressed the growing concern around Shedeur’s absence, emphasizing that the team hasn’t lost faith in him.
“The team has not quit,” Bacon said, before reiterating that Shedeur still has to earn the right to play.
“They’re maybe not as talented as you would like… But Shedeur has to earn the reps. The Browns know what they have in Shedeur Sanders more than anybody; they see him day in and day out. The last piece is: Can he earn the right to go out and play in a regular-season game? That’s on him,” he added.
Bacon underscored that while fans and media have been kept in the dark about Sanders’ progress, the coaching staff’s decisions are driven by what they see in practice, not speculation.
“Right now, the media doesn’t get to see it. The coaches get to see it. So they must not be seeing what they’ve told him they want to see,” Bacon continued, suggesting that the rookie still has scope to develop before earning Stefanski’s trust.
At this point, co-host Lance Reisland pushed back slightly, arguing that if Shedeur truly were outperforming Gabriel, the Browns would have no reason to keep him on the bench. He blamed it on the coach’s ego.
“When your job’s on the line — Kevin Stefanski’s, the coaches’, the GM’s — it’d be hard for me to believe that if Shedeur Sanders was the best guy, he wouldn’t be in there,” Lance said. “I don’t think Kevin Stefanski has an ego… when Shedeur’s ready to play, they’ll play him. And if he’s better than Dillon, they’ll play him.”
Stefanski has remained committed to Gabriel, despite his uneven performances. In four starts, Gabriel has completed 59.9% of his passes for 702 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. These numbers are nearly identical to the offense’s production under Joe Flacco earlier this season.
Even after Gabriel’s two-pick outing against New England, Stefanski reaffirmed that the 24-year-old would remain the starter for Week 10 against the Jets.
Meanwhile, Sanders is recovering from a back injury that sidelined him in Week 9. Though he was inactive against New England, he remains the designated QB2, with Bailey Zappe temporarily elevated in his place.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees acknowledged that Sanders hasn’t received first-team reps but insisted the team is finding other ways to develop him. “There’s a lot of walk-through reps, a lot of learning opportunities. We’re maximizing everything we can,” he said.
With nine games remaining and Deshaun Watson still on the physically unable to perform list, Sanders’ path to the field likely depends on two factors: His health and Gabriel’s performance.
If Gabriel continues to struggle and Sanders shows improvement in practice, the Browns could give the rookie a late-season outing. They would want to test him out, and, based on that, take a call on how to go about their two first-round picks in the 2026 draft.
For now, however, the message from inside the building is clear: The Browns haven’t given up on Shedeur Sanders. But before he earns the spotlight, he must first earn the reps.
