When the Cleveland Browns waited until the 144th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft to add Shedeur Sanders, many thought it was a sign that he wouldn’t see the field at all as a rookie. After all, he entered the depth chart in fourth place, behind a former Super Bowl winner in Joe Flacco.
The Browns also had a former first-round pick in Kenny Pickett and a fellow rookie in third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. In other words, Sanders had a long way to climb.
Shedeur Sanders Gets Honest About ‘Tough’ Rookie Year
Sanders won’t sugarcoat it. He knows he went through a lot of growing pains in his first season. The way he sees it, he grew a lot from what was a difficult first year.
Speaking with ESPN’s Nadeska Alexis, Sanders admitted last season was “tough.” But he is also remaining optimistic about his experience, saying, “at least I made it.”
“I can’t be consistent on the field and not have consistency in my personal life,” Sanders said. “Whatever you do in your personal life is going to bleed into how you feel. If you’re disciplined, you’re going to make the right reads. If you have a lot of distractions, you’re gonna get distracted.
“You’re going to think the cornerback is backpedaling when he’s really sitting. It was just a tough year last year. My expectations, when I look back, dang, at least I made it through there. At least I made some crazy plays out there. I got it in me. All I gotta do now is just show everybody else.”
Sanders isn’t letting a down rookie season, where he completed just 56.6% of his passes, impact his overall outlook. He’s just happy to have survived a “tough year” in Cleveland.
BUILD YOUR OWN TOP 100:PFN’s FREE NFL Top 100 Builder
Ideally, Sanders will have learned from the hardships he experienced last year and will use them to improve going forward. Actually, it sounds like he’s already learned from them; now it’s just a matter of proving to the rest of the world that he’s capable of being the franchise QB the Browns desperately need.
Though it won’t be an easy battle, as he’s still competing with a three-time Pro Bowler in Deshaun Watson for the starting QB job in Cleveland. With first-year head coach Todd Monken taking over, both QBs are getting a fresh start.
Whoever does the most with it will likely end up as the Week 1 starter, but that doesn’t always mean he’ll remain there all season long.
About the Author
