Shedeur Sanders Shades Critics in IG Photo Amid Browns QB Battle With Watson, Gabriel, More

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders appeared to reference his skeptics in a message he reposted to social media.

"Think about a person's opinion… in the grand scheme of life, it means nothing," the quote read. "We often give opinions power when we react to them and make them seem valuable. Why expect anything different from a modern culture that doesn't keep GOD at the forefront of daily actions?"

There is at least one person's opinion that's important to Sanders. He's vying to impress first-year coach Todd Monken and beat Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel for the starting job.

Monken said last week he hopes to have a starter in place by the start of training camp in July. For now, the QB battle is an open competition without a standout candidate.

Watson has an obvious edge in experience, but he hasn't appeared in an NFL game since October 2024. He's on an expiring contract, too, removing one incentive to seeing whether he can have a renaissance.

If the three-time Pro Bowler does have a big year, Cleveland would suddenly be in a bind over whether he's worth keeping around and how much to pay him.

Sanders or Gabriel would offer more long-term stability, but neither did all that well as a rookie. Sanders threw 10 interceptions in eight appearances and had an 18.9 QBR, per Pro Football Reference. Gabriel averaged 170 yards per game and five yards per attempt in five starts before getting injured.

Last year, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski had to push back against a narrative he had an agenda toward Sanders and was purposefully holding the former Colorado star back.

At the very least, Sanders has a straightforward path to the first string. It's on him to capitalize on the opening and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt he's better than Watson or Gabriel.