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Cleveland radio host reports Browns plan to start Shedeur Sanders in 2025, gives potential timeline

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones6 hours agobrianjones_93
Shedeur Sanders (3)
Oct 12, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) leaves the field following the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

A Cleveland radio host just gave a big update on Shedeur Sanders becoming the starting quarterback for the Browns in 2025. Tony Rizzo of The Tony Rizzo Show said Sanders will start the final four games of the year, possibly earlier.

“I was told by two different sources, one said Shedeur will start the last four games of the season, no matter what,” Rizzo said on Monday. “Unless the Browns win every game through the Titans week, Shedeur will play the Bears, Bills, Steelers, and Bengals. They want to see what he’s got. Another person said he could be in play earlier than that.”

Dillon Gabriel is the current starting QB for the Browns. The former Oregon star won his first game as a starter, throwing for 116 yards in the team’s 31-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

The Browns selected Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in this year’s draft. Gabriel was selected in the third round, and Sanders was selected in the fifth. There has been a lot of talk about Sanders becoming the starting QB because he was projected to be a top-10 pick in the draft. But if the Browns go a run with Gabriel under center, it would be hard for them to make a QB change.

What the Browns think of Shedeur Sanders

“We view him as a highly accurate pocket passer,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said of Sanders in April, per the team’s official website. “He does a really good job of protecting the ball. He has enough of the physical characteristics, whether it’s arm strength or mobility. Like all young players, there are things to improve.”

Sanders began the 2025 season as the No. 3 QB, as Gabriel was the backup and Joe Flacco was the starter. When the Browns traded Flacco, Gabriel and Sanders moved up the depth chart.

When Sanders was the third-string quarterback ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called out the Browns for not having him as the backup. “Listen, I don’t understand why you can’t put Shedeur as your QB2,” Smith said earlier this month. “Personally, I don’t get that part. And here’s why I’m saying that: Flacco knows Father Time has caught up with him, he’s not what he used to be. He’s happy to be on an NFL roster, to contribute in any way that he possibly can. He knows that he’s a stop-gap for the young guns coming up the rear. He knows that. So there’s nothing wrong with putting him at the QB3 spot.”