Browns say QB Sanders to make 1st NFL start

BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns will start Shedeur Sanders at quarterback in Sunday’s road game against the Las Vegas Raiders, coach Kevin Stefanski announced Wednesday, as Dillon Gabriel remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol.

A son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders began his NFL career in Cleveland as the No. 4 quarterback but has slowly made his way up the depth chart and will now make his first start in Week 12. Sanders will become the 42nd quarterback to start a game for the Browns since the franchise returned to Cleveland in 1999.

Sanders, the 144th overall pick in the 2025 draft, made his NFL debut in the second half of Sunday’s 23-16 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens after Gabriel was checked for a concussion at halftime and later ruled out. Sanders struggled in the defeat, completing 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception. He was also sacked twice.

Bailey Zappe is signed to the practice squad. On Oct. 22, Stefanski said that, unlike when Gabriel was the backup, Sanders was not receiving practice reps with the starters as QB2 as the team focused on Gabriel’s weekly readiness as a rookie starter. Stefanski, though, has said that Sanders has been getting reps in alternative ways, including scout team reps, walk-throughs and post-practice reps with other developmental players.

Sanders was rated as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2025 draft by ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. However, Sanders fell to Day 3 of the draft, where the Browns traded up to select him in the fifth round with their seventh and final pick.

As training camp opened, Sanders was slotted behind not only Gabriel, whom the team selected with the No. 94 pick, but veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. Sanders did not receive reps with the starting offense as Cleveland held a quarterback competition in training camp, but amid a slew of injuries during the summer, Sanders got the opportunity to start the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers.

Playing in a little less than three quarters with a cast of backups and third-stringers, Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 19 rushing yards in a 30-10 win over the Panthers. Sanders, though, missed the following week, including the second preseason game, with an oblique injury. He was the third Browns quarterback to play in the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams and struggled, completing 3 of 6 passes for 14 yards. Sanders was also sacked five times.

The Browns traded Pickett to the Raiders days later, and Sanders made the 53-man roster along with Flacco and Gabriel. Sanders began the regular season as the No. 3 quarterback and was inactive for the first five games of the season as the emergency QB. After the Browns traded Flacco, who was benched in favor of Gabriel after four games, to the Cincinnati Bengals, Sanders moved into the backup role. He has been QB2 for all but one game since then; Sanders was inactive in Week 8 because of a back injury.

Sanders is stepping in for Gabriel, who has started the previous five games. Gabriel ranks 32nd out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks in Total QBR (30.9), above only Tennessee Titans rookie Cam Ward. The Browns were 1-4 in games that Gabriel started before his injury.