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By Tyler Erzberger
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Shedeur Sanders fans, sit down.
This might not be the best news.
Following an up-and-down rookie season in which he was made a starter midway through due to fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel getting injured, the question is whether Sanders will be the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns when next season begins.
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At points, it seemed like he found his footing and was beginning to show signs of the franchise QB he was projected to be before sliding heavily in the 2025 NFL Draft, but then he'd take a huge step back. And by the end of the season, the narrative seemed to be turning towards the Browns looking elsewhere for a starter in 2026.
ESPN's senior reporter Jeremy Fowler scanned the league's top executives and personnel under the promise of anonymity, wanting to know which players he thinks will be traded, signed, or benched going into the next campaign.
A high-end source in the NFC believes that Sanders will not be the Browns' starter when the curtain rises in their opener.
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"I just don't think [the Browns] go into the season with Shedeur as their top option," said an NFC personnel man to Fowler for the story. "And getting the right quarterback in the draft isn't a guarantee based on where they pick."
They believe that Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis might be the big fish that the Browns try to sign in free agency, after he had impressive performances in the absence of starter Jordan Love at the end of the season.
Willis, a third-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in the 2023 NFL Draft, never got a chance to truly shine on a team before falling backwards into a reserve role for the Packers after his Titans tenure didn't work out.
But he showed he has the arm and legs to possibly be a starter given the proper development time, and the Browns might see more potential in the former Liberty Flame than either Sanders or Gabriel.
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