Reporter shares if Shedeur Sanders has chance to win Browns' QB job

Ever since the Cleveland Browns wrapped up spring workouts in June, numerous reports have indicated that 2025 fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders essentially has no real chance to win the four-way competition for the team's starting quarterback job. 

Sanders will spend the summer battling for reps with veteran Joe Flacco, advertised QB2 Kenny Pickett and 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. For a piece published on Wednesday, Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested fans shouldn't yet completely dismiss the idea of Sanders getting the nod for the club's Week 1 game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. 

"...Thanks to Sanders’ high football acumen and tireless work ethic, he learned the terminology and playbook quickly and excelled over the final two weeks of spring ball," Cabot shared. "...Still running with the fourth-team offense, Sanders so impressed the staff with his growing grasp of the pre-snap process during those final two weeks that he kept himself in the mix for the starting job and earned more quality reps in training camp." 

Throughout the first three months of 2025, analysts such as ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. labeled Sanders as a first-round talent and projected that Gabriel would be a third-day selection. However, Sanders' alleged handling of the predraft process was a major reason he remained available when the Browns traded up to select him with the 144th pick. 

During the latest edition of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast," Cabot mentioned how Gabriel's "computer-like brain" helped him pick up a "slight edge over Sanders" before the Browns' summer break. That said, Cabot seems to believe Sanders could start closing the gap after rookie Cleveland players begin reporting for training camp on Friday. 

The Browns will face the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8 and the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 16 in preseason action.

"The first few weeks in late July and early August are important, because by the time the Browns conclude their two joint practices against the Eagles on Aug. 13 and 14 and their preseason game there on Aug. 16, their QB depth chart will be almost set, with perhaps just a final decision to be made between QB1 and QB2," Cabot added. "If Sanders demonstrates during that pivotal week that he deserves to be on the field, the Browns will tailor the offense to his strengths and give him a shot." 

Cabot acknowledged that it's "an uphill battle for either Sanders or Gabriel to start Week 1 against the Bengals." As of Wednesday afternoon, FanDuel Sportsbook had Sanders as a massive +870 betting underdog to open the season as Cleveland's QB1. Gabriel was at +500 odds, behind both Pickett (+200) and Flacco (-102).