Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns head into Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season already starting their second quarterback of the year, Dillon Gabriel, in place of Joe Flacco, but those two quarterbacks are not the biggest names on the team. As the Browns prepare to play the Minnesota Vikings early Sunday morning, a rumor report came out Saturday night about what to expect from Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson this season.
Sanders excited the football world in college, but fell from many expecting him to be selected in the first round to being taken by Cleveland in the fifth round. Watson tore his Achilles tendon twice last season, but is reportedly on track to be physically ready to play sometime in the middle of the 2025 season.
According to Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, one of those two quarterbacks is expected to play this season, and it is not the veteran:
Watson playing in 2025, however, is considered unlikely.
As for the rookie, HC Kevin Stefanski noted to the media this week in London that Sanders needs to keep doing what he’s been doing:
Despite earlier reporting that Sanders was unlikely to see the field this season, Rapoport says that the Browns are being very particular with how they get the young quarterback ready, but expects him to play this season:
The Browns want Sanders to be successful when he’s out there. When he plays, they want him to do so with a game plan that is made for him to thrive. As the backup, if he was forced into action, he’d be running a game plan built for Gabriel, rather than one built to his strengths. Is that fair to Sanders?
The expectation is that Sanders will play at some point this season when he’s ready. When he does play, it would be with a full week of practice and a game plan built for him.
While fans of Sanders have been concerned about how Cleveland has prepared the Colorado Buffaloes QB, the Browns want to make sure everything is in his favor if and when he hits the field for his first NFL snaps.
What do you think of Rapoport’s report on the Browns plan with Sanders? Do you think Watson will really sit out the whole season?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below
