Shedeur Sanders is facing a major competition for playing time in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room. As of now, the team has five quarterbacks on the roster.
No one knows who the Browns will have under center throughout the 2025 season. Kenny Pickett is considered a favorite to win the Week 1 job, but Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel will all be competing for playing time.
Cleveland badly needs to figure out a quarterback who can be its long-term answer. There are some who think that Sanders could become that kind of player, but others expect the Browns to be forced to continue searching for a quarterback.
One NFL legend has spoken out and made a confident prediction about Sanders. He believes the former Colorado Buffaloes’ standout will be the guy for Cleveland.
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Keyshawn Johnson revealed his opinion on the matter during an appearance on “Speak.”
“I am confident that it is going to be Shedeur, I don’t know when though. I don’t know if it’s the start of the season or three, four, or five games into the season, but before they get to the midseason mark, he’s going to be the starting quarterback and taking the reps,” Johnson said.
Those are some strong words. Sanders taking over as the starter before the midway point of the season would prove a lot of critics wrong about him.
During the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders was widely projected to be a first or second round pick. He ended up falling all the way to the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round, where the Browns traded up for him after taking Gabriel in the third round.
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Sanders put together a monstrous college career. In four years, two with Jackson State and two with Colorado, Sanders threw for 14,347 yards, 134 touchdowns, and just 27 interceptions.
While his college production seemed to be much better than a fifth round pick, that’s where he went. Now, he has extra motivation to prove teams wrong for passing on him.
Everything will begin in full swing when Cleveland opens up training camp in July. Sanders will be given a chance to prove that he should be the starter.
Whether he’s able to do that for Week 1 or by the middle of the season as Johnson suggests, simply becoming the Browns’ starter would be a huge win for the rookie and would give him an opportunity to begin changing the national narrative about himself.
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