Rookie Shedeur Sanders to Lead Browns Through Final Four Games
The Cleveland Browns will keep rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders as their starter for the final four games of the season, head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. Sanders, taken 144th overall in this year’s draft, is coming off the strongest performance of his young career, posting 394 total yards and four touchdowns in a 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
The defeat officially eliminated Cleveland from playoff contention at 3-10, but Stefanski said Sanders’ development makes the final stretch meaningful. He praised the rookie for improving “constantly and consistently” with each start and for being intentional about getting better.
Sanders’ rise has been rapid. He began the season as the fourth quarterback on the depth chart behind Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. But the team traded both veterans midseason, and Gabriel sustained a concussion in Week 11, setting the stage for Sanders’ first start.
He made the most of it, becoming the first Browns quarterback since 1995 to win his debut when he led Cleveland to a 24-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12. The Browns are 1-2 in his starts so far. For the season, Sanders has completed 52.4% of his passes for 769 yards, with five touchdowns and three interceptions, and has added 50 rushing yards and a rushing score.
Cleveland’s ongoing struggle to keep its offensive line intact took another hit Monday when Stefanski announced that starting center Ethan Pocic will miss the rest of the year after tearing his Achilles against the Titans.
Pocic was injured on the first play of the fourth quarter and carted off the field. He’s the third starting lineman in two weeks to go down, joining right tackle Jack Conklin, who missed Sunday with a concussion, and right guard Wyatt Teller, who is sidelined with a calf injury and will also miss the upcoming game against the Chicago Bears. Earlier in the season, tackle Dawand Jones suffered an LCL tear and hamstring avulsion in Week 3.
Pocic, 30, has started 57 games for the Browns since signing in 2022 and is one of four Week 1 offensive line starters not under contract after the 2025 season. Cleveland used its eighth different offensive line combination Sunday and is preparing to roll out its ninth in Week 15, with Luke Wypler expected to replace Pocic at center.
If Sanders keeps putting up numbers behind this patchwork line, somebody might want to check him for superhero origins.
