Shedeur Sanders’ NFL-leading flaw is now impossible for the Browns to ignore

Nobody was going to expect Shedeur Sanders to come and resemble a Hall of Fame quarterback in his first starts for the Cleveland Browns. The offense has struggled and been out of sync for much of the 2025 campaign, just like 2024, and Sanders is a young player that has plenty of room to grow. 

The results for Sanders through three-plus games for Cleveland as its starting quarterback have been as what one could’ve anticipated, to some degree, in having been mixed. He has thrown some ill-advised passes, and that’s led to three interceptions and others that could have been picked off. There have also been some bad sacks that Sanders has taken, and it’s going to continue to be a point of emphasis for the young signal caller to not drift further back in the pocket.

In the Browns’ 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Sanders had a particularly costly interception in the early part of the third quarter which caused Tennessee to gain momentum and ultimately take the lead.

Those things aside, there have been signs of growth from Sanders as he’s had more snaps under his belt as Cleveland’s starter. Sure, it does appear Cleveland could very well end up selecting a quarterback early on in the 2026 NFL Draft, but that does not mean further progression from Sanders to close out the season would not be noteworthy.

He’s taken some positive steps and has shown flashes, and hopefully for his and the Browns’ sake, that can continue in the ensuing four games.

Shedeur Sanders is coming along for the Browns, but his biggest issue persists

Sanders is far from a finished product, and patting the ball at times in his dropbacks is an area that can be irking when going against NFL defenses. Sanders has to improve, from a short- and long-term standpoint, when it comes to getting the ball out of his hands quicker to pass catchers. Along those lines, Kevin Patra of NFL.com recently pointed out how Sanders “leads the NFL with a 3.39-second time to throw among QBs with at least 100 attempts.” 

Obviously, this is something the Colorado product has to make strides in going forward, and one would prefer to see him take less untimely sacks and questionable throws.

However, as he has gotten more opportunities as the starter, Sanders has had more encouraging moments. One can point to Sanders’ 52-yard completion on a deep ball to Isaiah Bond in his first start at the Las Vegas Raiders, Sanders giving Cleveland a fighting chance against the Baltimore Ravens in the final two minutes, or in several instances in Cleveland’s last game against Tennessee. 

Sure, one would’ve preferred him to have been more efficient in his attempts, as Sanders was 23-of-42 passing on Sunday in the Browns’ loss to the Titans. That was a 54.8 percent hit rate in his tosses, and the pick he threw was a terrible decision; a fumbled snap on a two-point conversion in the game’s closing stages was a rookie moment as well.

But Sanders did have 364 yards passing and registered four total touchdowns (three passing and one running), both of which were no small feat. He also led Cleveland down the field for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to have a chance at tying (and theoretically winning) the game.

Independent of the comical failure on Cleveland’s second two-point try that virtually ended the contest where Sanders was not even on the field, he had a whale of an effort which featured several incredible tosses. His shot pass to Jerry Jeudy resulting in a 60-yard touchdown after Jeudy’s catch-and-run was one of those, as well as a dime up the sideline to Harold Fannin Jr., which ended up being a 35-yard gain.

In fairness, Sanders still has areas he has to clean up and he is going to have to take more steps forward and has to establish more consistency in Cleveland’s last four games to close out the year. And after all, it does seem reasonable to still anticipate the Browns having a good chance of selecting a quarterback early in the 2026 NFL Draft, regardless of potential organizational change in the coming offseason.

Whether there’s a new regime to come or not, if Sanders keeps showing progression with his pocket manipulation and command, and he gets better with playing on schedule, he’ll only be helping himself.

Make no mistake, Sanders is a talented player that can make chunk throws downfield and his ball placement helps underneath targets, such as Dylan Sampson, become more dangerous. Sanders just has to keep demonstrating growth while hopefully getting the ball out quicker game-to-game.

If that can play out and he finds ways to cut down on his ill-advised decisions at times, with his ability to make plays downfield, Cleveland may have gotten a heck of a steal in Sanders. He just has to take it day-by-day, rep-by-rep from here and not get ahead of himself.