Browns insider sounds alarms about future of Shedeur Sanders

While first-year Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken named veteran Deshaun Watson the club's Week 1 starting quarterback, Monken insisted on Tuesday that he believes Shedeur Sanders will "continue to grow leaps and bounds" throughout the upcoming season. 

On Wednesday, Browns reporter Jason Lloyd of The Athletic suggested that Sanders "likely" has no long-term future with the organization after the second-year pro lost the competition for the starting job to Watson. 

Shedeur Sanders still struggling "with the most basic parts of being an NFL quarterback"

"That Sanders has struggled with the most basic parts of being an NFL quarterback — the operational side of calling the play in the huddle, breaking the huddle quickly, getting guys lined up, speaking a cadence loudly and clearly enough for his linemen to hear him — is an indication of how far he has to travel if this is ever going to work," Lloyd directly said. "We haven’t even gotten to his processing times and how long he holds the ball (improved over last year, still not good enough)."

Watson's history of poor play and of suffering injuries throughout his Cleveland tenure has some assuming that Monken could turn to Sanders as soon as for the Browns' home opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 27. That said, Sanders was arguably the league's worst starting quarterback during the second half of his rookie season. Thus, it's not shocking that Lloyd is among those who feel the Browns' 2027 Week 1 starter may currently be in college. 

For a mock draft posted on Wednesday, Jordan Reid of ESPN predicted that the Browns will trade up to make Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore the first overall pick of the 2027 NFL Draft. 

Shedeur Sanders' fame working against him with Browns? 

Sanders is a social-media phenom who has over 2.7 million followers on Instagram, and he has raised eyebrows with his non-football interests. Lloyd seems to think that Sanders' fame could be viewed as a negative by the Browns. 

"Backup quarterbacks are supposed to be anonymous until they’re needed," Lloyd explained. "Sanders might be the most famous backup in football. Every interception by a rookie would turn into a referendum. Every losing streak would bring demands for Sanders. Every decision not to play Sanders would become another national debate about whether the Browns were treating him fairly. No organization should intentionally build that environment around a rookie quarterback it just drafted to save the franchise. Fair or not, the noise that surrounds Sanders creates an unhealthy environment for everyone else."

Reports hinted that the Browns could consider trading Sanders if Watson was named the Week 1 starter. However, Lloyd wrote that Sanders "has little to no trade value right now." 

Sanders could ultimately prove doubters wrong if he receives opportunities to start for the 2026 Browns and plays well over more than a handful of games. If he doesn't, he may have a different football home at this time next year.