Shedeur Sanders ignites Cleveland Browns quarterback chatter again

NEW ORLEANS — Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders made the most important start of his NFL career on Sunday and responded by turning in his most impressive performance.

The Browns lost to the New Orleans Saints 23-22 in overtime and slipped to 5-4, but Sanders’ performance — completing 19 of 31 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns — may have helped answer a lingering question for beleaguered Browns fans: Is Sanders part of a Browns renaissance, or is he part of the franchise’s mediocre past?

This debate has raged since last spring, when Cleveland selected Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, turning the University of Colorado standout into a lightning rod for controversy and debate.

Was he the victim of an NFL front office conspiracy to punish a young Black man for being too cocky?

Was he largely the product of the hype machine manufactured by his Hall of Fame father, Deion Sanders?

When Cleveland first-year head coach Todd Monken chose Deshaun Watson over Sanders to be the Browns’ starting quarterback this season, we thought we had a partial answer — and the right one. With the more experienced Watson, Cleveland got off to a 5-2 start and won back-to-back games on the strength of his comeback prowess.

So, when Watson suffered a concussion against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and signs pointed to Sanders being the starter Sunday on the road against the Saints, we figured this would be the first true test for his backup.

Sanders started the final seven games of last season with mixed results: a 3-4 record, seven touchdown passes, 10 interceptions and a 56.6% completion percentage. The season was already lost; the stakes mattered only to Sanders and his brand.

The stakes of Sunday’s game were exponentially higher. Monken’s team is in the thick of an AFC North division title race, battling the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. Cleveland needed to win a game against a lesser-on-paper opponent, requiring Sanders to be the clutch player he often was in college.

Though the Browns lost Sunday, it wasn’t because of Sanders. In fact, he nearly won them the game.

Sanders gave Cleveland a 13-9 fourth-quarter lead on a 64-yard touchdown pass to KC Concepcion Jr. After New Orleans went back in front with less than a minute left in regulation, the 24-year-old quarterback led the Browns on a game-tying drive that ended with a field goal and included a clutch third-down pass thrown under ferocious pressure.

The Saints (3-5) scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, and Sanders put Cleveland in position to match them by leading a brilliant eight-play, 67-yard drive capped by a 39-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Harold Fannin.

Instead, the Browns tried a 2-point conversion for the win — but Sanders couldn’t find an open receiver, and a holding penalty would have negated a successful attempt anyway.

“I’m really, really proud of him, and he’s really matured,” Monken said. “I don’t mean that in a negative way, that he was immature. That’s unfair. That’s not what I mean. What I mean is in terms of his work ethic — in terms of his diligence, in terms of what he will say to the coaching staff and ask the questions, his feedback — those are all the right steps moving forward as any young player, especially at quarterback.

“He gave us a chance at the end. He really did make some plays. He made some plays with his legs to extend plays and get us first downs.”

Invariably, the quarterback chatter will begin — and probably already has. Sanders’ supporters will use Sunday’s performance as evidence he should be named the starter, regardless of Watson’s concussion status.

Monken wouldn’t play that game when asked after Sunday’s loss if Sanders had made a convincing argument for starting.

“I’m not even –” an exasperated Monken began. “How long has it been? Thirty minutes since the game ended. I’m not getting into quarterback.”

But Monken acknowledged Sunday’s game gave him a level of confidence in Sanders that he may have lacked going into the game.

“I mean, the way he improved over the course of the first six months that I was around him gave me confidence in him, but ultimately, you got to go play,” Monken said. “You’ve got to go on the field and you’ve got to execute. And guys got to play well around him, right? It’s not a one-man deal. We got a coach; we got a scheme. But ultimately at the end he came through, and we needed him to come through with some big plays and some big throws.

“I’m happy for him, because every player wants an opportunity to play and showcase their abilities. So that part of it, I’m proud of him.”

Sanders wouldn’t be drawn into the speculation either. Asked point-blank if he had earned the right to start again, he insisted it was not his call.

“I control what I control,” he said.

Sanders went on to discuss what he has learned sitting behind Watson, watching the game and growing in different areas.

“If I’m playing, then yes, I’m growing in this area. If I’m not playing, then I’m growing in this [other] area,” Sanders said. “So, in every area you are growing, so you can’t really ever look at the situation as negative. … Even learning from Deshaun, just how he keeps the same mentality throughout the game, how he doesn’t really get frustrated and stays the same.”

There is also the maturity factor referred to by Monken. Earlier in the week, Sanders made statements — a smiling gesture, really — interpreted as being disrespectful of the Saints’ defense. He began his postgame remarks Sunday by apologizing.

Sanders is growing and maturing.

“I apologize if my words were taken out of context,” he said. “I apologize for that being taken out of context, but that’s just how media is sometimes. But then also, that’s on me for not making it very clear. And I understand that.”

The Steelers and Bengals are both 6-2. Cleveland slipped to 5-4 but still has two games left against Cincinnati. A division crown remains within reach.

But to get there, the Browns’ offense needs a spark.

On Sunday, they lost to a Saints team that had dropped four of its past five games. Entering the matchup, Cleveland averaged 17.4 points per game, fourth-lowest in the NFL. The Browns’ defense has kept the team competitive as the franchise fights for a level of relevance it has missed for decades.

Cleveland has made just two playoff appearances in the past 23 years, most recently a 2023 first-round loss to the Houston Texans after going 11-6 in the regular season. The Browns’ only playoff win since 1995 came in 2020. The last time Cleveland enjoyed consistent success was the late 1980s, when the Browns reached three AFC Championship games in four seasons.

That history will weigh on whichever quarterback the Browns start this season, but the coaching staff now knows it can depend on Sanders down the stretch and in the clutch. The franchise must now determine if he is part of its future.

The jury is still out, but if Sanders’ performance in Sunday’s overtime loss is any indication, expect a favorable verdict.