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Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is currently in quarterback purgatory with the Cleveland Browns. But a top NFL quarterback agent believes there’s still hope for his starting career.
Sanders’ teammate and rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel has been named the Browns’ starting quarterback, and the team traded veteran Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday.
Sanders, now the team’s No. 2 behind Gabriel, generated mixed media attention last week when asked if Gabriel would be named the starter. Sanders responded by silently mouthing words without speaking, like a mime.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, front, walks off the field after the NFL football team’s rookie minicamp in Berea, Ohio, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Agent Leigh Steinberg, who has represented a record eight No. 1 overall draft picks, suggested he believes Sanders’ response was a product of competitive frustration.
“I thought I agreed with the answer,” Steinberg told Pak Gazette Digital. “It’s unrealistic to expect players to be excited and delighted by a backup situation.”
Still, Steinberg would have expected Sanders to give a more substantial response if the rookie were his client.
“I think realistically the answer would be two-part. Number one, ‘Obviously, I’m looking forward to being a starter in this league, and I think that’s my destiny, but in the meantime, I’m going to do everything I can to support Dillon Gabriel.’ I think that’s the answer,” Steinberg said.
Gabriel threw for 190 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in his first start with the Browns on Sunday, but the team lost to the Minnesota Vikings 21-17. Gabriel earned the starting second-string job for Cleveland after being selected with the team’s third-round pick in this year’s draft.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) looks to pass the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the second quarter of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 5, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Image Images)
Sanders, despite being considered a superior prospect to Gabriel coming out of college, was not selected until the fifth round, when the Browns took him with the 144th pick. Sanders was a projected contender for the number one overall pick entering the draft, but fell all the way to the fifth round in one of the most surprising and unprecedented draft drops in NFL history.
And now Sanders is relegated to a reserve role behind another rookie in Cleveland, as Gabriel could become the Browns’ long-term starter, leaving Sanders with no clear path to becoming a starter himself. But Steinberg, as an agent, believes it’s “almost certain” that Sanders will start at quarterback at some point this year.
Steinberg also believes sitting will continue to be beneficial to Sanders’ stock as a quarterback in the long run.
“If Dillon Gabriel ends up being the quarterback of the future, someone else will give Shedeur Sanders a chance,” Steinberg said.
Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns warms up before the game against the Green Bay Packers at Huntington Bank Field on September 21, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
“Use the time as a backup to learn everything you can [you can]. Not starting freshman year is what launched the careers of Jordon Love, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers; “All these players sat out for a year.”
Steinberg said the amount of time Sanders should wait patiently as a backup is “after a couple of years” before looking for a new team.
“At this point, all you know as a backup agent is that someone else is getting their chance, and we’ll see and make decisions later, depending on what the situation is down the road,” Steinberg said.
