Shedeur Sanders finished the 2025 season as the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback, but the Colorado product may not hold that job into the 2026 season. Starting the season as the fourth option on the depth chart, a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness led to him starting the final seven games of the season. The Browns went 3-4 in his starts while Sander completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards (6.6 yards per attempt), seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 44.1 PFF grade, the worst mark among eligible quarterbacks. He earned a spot on the Pro Bowl roster, although that says a lot more about the award’s voting process than it does Sanders himself.
Sanders is currently the top option on the Browns’ depth chart, but that could change in the 2026 NFL Draft. According to Bleacher Report‘s Moe Moton, Cleveland could take a shot on projected first-round quarterback Ty Simpson. Simpson, an Alabama product, is widely considered to be the second-best passer in the draft class, behind only Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
“[Dillon] Gabriel and Sanders haven’t done enough for the Browns to pass on a signal-caller with one of their two first-rounders, even if the club believes the 2027 quarterback class is a much stronger group,” Moton writes. “It could only help the Browns to take more swings at quarterback until they find their franchise guy. This time, though, Cleveland can consider a much less costly gamble to finally solve its biggest need.”
Browns Projected to Draft Ty Simpson, Add Competition For Shedeur Sanders
If any team knows about the troubles of finding a franchise quarterback, it’s the Cleveland Browns. The team has the most infamous jersey in football and has never managed to land a true franchise quarterback. Former first-overall pick Baker Mayfield is the only one who came close to playing up to that level, but his fit with the Browns wasn’t ideal.
Say what you will about Sheduer Sanders, but just about every metric out there shows he played like a fifth-round pick. While players can (and sometimes do) improve with experience, the jury is still out on whether he can become a legitimate franchise quarterback. Quarterback is easily the most important position in football, and first-year head coach Todd Monken won’t want to attach himself to Sanders with no real Plan B.
Ty Simpson may not be the most exciting prospect in the world, but he has the physical traits to last in this league. While he doesn’t have Josh Allen’s arm, he can make NFL-caliber throws, read a defense, and keep an offense on schedule. While he is prone to the occasional ugly miss, he should compete for the Browns starting job right away and would probably begin the season under center.
