Shedeur Sanders Reportedly 'Has a Path' to be Browns' QB1 Over Joe Flacco, Gabriel

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is embroiled in a four-way competition for the starting job in the 2025 season, and it sounds like he has a strong chance to win the role.

During Wednesday's episode of Get Up, ESPN's Kimberley A. Martin reported that sources told her that Sanders "has a path" toward being the Browns' starting quarterback over veteran Joe Flacco, backup Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.

"Listen, in that building, there are people who believe that Shedeur can 100 percent be the starter of this football team," Martin said. "You said it's incumbent upon the Browns to put him in the situation, it’s also incumbent upon Shedeur to do the work, which, talking to people in that building, they've said he is soaking up everything like a sponge."

Sanders surprisingly fell to the fifth round of the 2025 draft before the Browns scooped him up. Gabriel was selected two rounds ahed of him in the third round, but Martin explained that Sanders' measurables have set him apart from his fellow first-year signal-caller.

"In the QB rooms, talking to Flacco, wanting to learn, and also, let's not forget, Dillon Gabriel, spent a lot of time talking about Shedeur, but Dillon Gabriel’s a guy who was drafted in the third. One source said to me, he is everything you want in a quarterback, he’s just small," Martin said. "If he were a little taller, a lot of people would be looking at Dillon Gabriel a little differently, at least that's how they feel in their building. So they have a very interesting quarterback situation, and Shedeur has a path."

The Browns are set to hold mandatory minicamp next week from June 10-12, giving Sanders and the rest of their quarterbacks their first real opportunity to take the lead in the competition for the starting job.