Shedeur Sanders learned a lot in his first year in the NFL. The Browns quarterback endured all the ups and downs that rookies tend to experience.
Most importantly, he found that you can’t win a game on a single play, and to be the hero, you have to embrace the small victories.
“You can see it. It’s kind of like mastering how to get to that place all the time,” Sanders said on Up & Adams. “You have flashes. That’s the most thing I appreciate about this year is that I proved to myself, I’m able to dominate the league. But I’m able to take completions, I’m able to put all of that together, and definitely in games, we have flashes, but I know I’m capable of doing that. Now, to do it on a consistent basis, that’s what the goal is. But for me in this past season, that’s what I proved to myself. No matter what happened, no matter anything that transpired, you are able to go out there and compete.”
After sitting behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel for the first half of the season, Sanders settled into the NFL nicely. He threw for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns, and helped the Browns end the season with a pair of victories.
Sanders earned a Pro Bowl nod to stamp a respectable rookie season, but he will have to retain that consistent play with many different surrounding personnel in 2026.
The Browns hired Todd Monken as their next coach. An offensive mind, he’ll likely bring his own system to Sanders and Cleveland’s quarterback room. There’s also no guarantee Sanders will be the Browns’ starting quarterback next season, as Gabriel will be healthy, and the Browns have 10 total selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, including the sixth and 24th pick in the first round.
