Rookie QB Shedeur Sanders to keep Browns starting job for rest of 2025
by Alex Butler · UPIDec. 8 (UPI) -- Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders will remain the Cleveland Browns' starter for the rest of the season, coach Kevin Stefanski announced Monday.
"I think he has constantly and consistently gotten better in each one of these games and how he's approached this game," Stefanski told reporters. "He's been working very hard.
"So, I feel good about where his development is heading. He knows there are always going to be plays that he can be better and those type of things, but he's very intentional about getting better each and every game he's out there."
Sanders, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, started the year as the Browns' fourth-string quarterback, behind initial starter Joe Flacco, veteran Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.
He drew his first start Nov. 23 after the Browns traded Flacco and Pickett and Gabriel sustained a concussion.
Sanders has completed 57.5% (50 of 87) of his throws for 722 yards, five scores and two interceptions over the last three weeks. The Browns went 1-2 over that span.
Sanders completed 23 of 42 passes for a career-high 364 yards, three scores and one interception in the Browns' 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Cleveland. He also ran for a score.
Gabriel, a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, completed 59.5% (110 of 185) of his throws for 937 yards, seven scores and two interceptions over nine appearances this season.
He went 1-5 as a starter.
The Browns (3-10), who are eliminated from playoff contention, will face the Chicago Bears (9-4) at 1 p.m. EST Sunday in Chicago.
NFL: Tennessee Titans defeat Cleveland Browns
The Tennessee Titans' Chigoziem Okonkwo makes a catch in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday December 7, 2025. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo