BEREA, Ohio — Shedeur Sanders now knows he has four more chances to prove to the Browns he’s their starter for 2026, and that they don’t have to draft Fernando Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Dante Moore or another top QB in the ’26 class.
He also knows that his future here is tied, in part, to whether or not he lands the starting job, beginning with his fourth start on Sunday vs. the 9-4 Bears.
If the Browns do draft a quarterback high, it throws Sanders’ career here into uncertainty, even though they’d undoubtedly want to keep him around to compete for the job and continue to develop him.
Sanders’ feelings about his situation were revealed when Titans quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick, asked him after the game Sunday during a jersey exchange where he’s working out in the offseason.
“I’ve got to make it through the season,” Sanders told Ward, who led his team to only its second victory of the season in the 31-29 victory. “We’ve got two different problems over here, buddy.”
Sanders, who was expected to be drafted soon after Ward — possibly as high as No. 2 overall to the Browns — but tumbled to the fifth round, was asked about the exchange with Ward during his locker room availability on Wednesday. He reiterated that he knows what’s at stake over these final four games, while Ward is established as the Titans’ QB of the future.
“My focus, this is my life here, you know?” Sanders said. “So we’re on two different spectrums right now (him and Ward). I’ve got to focus on playing my best and being the best player I can for the team. And obviously the situations are different. I know he puts his all into these games, in these final four games, but it’s just a little bit different.
“Because you don’t know what could happen. So I just go out here and enjoy my day. Work hard. Do everything I can. If I’m here, I’m here. If I’m not, I’m not. It’s nothing in my control. So I try to control what I can control. That’s going out there, making the right reads, doing the right things, being the person I am and things will fall how they’re supposed to.”
Sanders made it clear again when answering a question about backup center Luke Wypler replacing Ethan Pocic (ruptured Achilles) that nothing is given and that he’s got to keep earning it.
“Luke is definitely a Hungry Dawg, so we’ve got to get that connection back going,” he said. “But Ethan, it definitely hurt that he was out because of the responsibility he took in helping everybody whenever I was able to come in and have the different level of comfort. I truthfully hope I could play with him next year and I hope he’s around next year. I really do. But I’m going to make sure I’m around next year too.
“But no, Luke is definitely ready to step up and do what he’s got to do. I’m thankful that we do have that Hungry Dawg connection and that we’re able to get out there and feel back to normal like we’re on a practice field. But Po, yeah that for sure hurt because he’s definitely a cool down-to-earth guy. He always gets here early, he’s always a man about his business and it’s just unfortunate to happen to him.”
Sanders, who’s led the Browns to a 1-2 mark, was asked about Kevin Stefanski naming him the starter for the final four games of the season, which everyone knows is part of his seven-game audition for the 2026 starting job. Third-round pick Dillon Gabriel will also be back next season, as will Deshaun Watson in the final year of his contract.
“That’s a long, deep thought,” Sanders said. “That’s not in my focus. My focus right now is the team we’re playing ahead, the Bears. So anything past that I’m not really focused on, honestly. I’m thankful for it, but I’m not content with my situation with everything. And we’re leading this team.”
The charge this week for Sanders will be to protect the ball against the ball-hawking Bears, who lead the NFL with 18 interceptions, including six by safety Kevin Byard III and five by cornerback Nahshon Wright, who also leads the team with 10 passes defensed.
“That’s the statistic that lets you know that they’re a good team,” Sanders said. “But I think when you approach each and every week, you know that defenders are capable of catching an interception.”
As for Byard in particular, he said, “He’s definitely a vet. We spoke about him here, and he’s obviously a great player. Been around the league for a minute. So I have definitely a lot of respect for him.”
He said he’s learning when to wave the white flag on a play.
“I’m improving in that,” he said. “I had a little slip-up last week (his INT vs. the Titans), for sure, when knowing the play is over. But in those situations sometimes, it’s just like I want to win so bad. I want to make something happen whenever we’re stagnant and stuff like that. So just learning from the week before when I took a sack that got us out a field goal position, I learned from that and I was like, OK, I know where we are on the field, understanding, OK, I’ll try my first thing, if it don’t work, get it out so then I won’t negatively affect the team.”
He explained why he said after the Titans game that his Hall of Fame dad, Deion Sanders, who was at Huntington Bank Field Sunday, was mad at him for that INT.
“During the game and everything, I always hear his voice in my ear,” Sanders said. “In certain situations, in a lot of situations, I know his expectations for me, and his expectation for me is the highest than anybody is. So that’s where playing for him my whole life made it easier to come and play anywhere else because his expectation, what he has done for himself, even being a player where he understands quarterbacks and everything. So yeah, he definitely is hard. Definitely hard on me. Definitely tells me to get completions, definitely tells me things like a recap of things that I need to do better.”
But Sanders, a quick study, doesn’t usually make the same mistake twice. The Browns have also drilled things with him over and over, including his college tendency to drift backwards under pressure. Sanders has made great progress with that since his first appearance, and is also learning to live to see another play.
“It’s not hard,” he said about taking the checkdown or the throwaways. “It just took a little explaining. (Sometimes it takes) a negative thing to happen for me to just slow down … Sometimes it goes your way, and they’ll be like, ‘That was lit,’ and sometimes it don’t. So you’ve got to limit those (risks).”
Sanders noted that his footwork improved last week against the Titans because he trusted what he was seeing.
“That ties into everything,” he said. “We had that leap of faith this past week, with knowing that the receivers were going to be in the right places, looking everybody in the eye saying, ‘I’m going to be there. I’ve got you.’ Building that foundation, building that trust. When I trust, then you get the best out of me. So I’m just thankful that we built those relationships that quickly within the receiver room and within the team in the O-line and everything. But we’re not content.”
He acknowledged that his chemistry is developing nicely with tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who caught 8 of 11 targets for 114 yards, with the 7-yard TD, even though he felt the TD pass to him with 1:03 left that produced the final margin was a little late.
“He still caught it and was able to make a play,” Sanders said. “As time goes on, we’ll be able to build that trust, build that chemistry. We’ll be able to play at the same speed to play with all the guys. It’s kind of like matchups, reads what the defense is doing, that’s who I tend to want to throw the ball to. Whoever the defense isn’t really covering like that. It’s not really just my favorite guy.”
As for his on-field banter with Titans pass rusher Jeffery Simmons, who threw up his wrist Sanders-style after a sack, Sanders noted that he doesn’t initiate such encounters.
“You’ve got to understand my character,” he said. “I’m not one to do that off rip. I’m not a person that ever try to put someone down, try to ever stunt, flex on somebody because it is no purpose. It don’t really help anything.
“He’s supposed to do that to the crowd, before we even scored and everything. So it’s just fun. I don’t take anything personal. I know they don’t because it’s heated battle and it’s a respect thing on both sides. So that’s just in the game. I don’t really look too deep in it. If I’m initiated to do it then they kind of like, you leave me no choice.”
If Sanders has his way, Byard, Wright and the rest of the Bears won’t have reason to celebrate on Sunday.
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