Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders shatters 30 years of futility, leading the Browns to a 24-10 win in his debut as a starter. The rookie QB proves doubters wrong, completing 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards.
Cleveland Browns fans didn't expect a lot from Shedeur Sanders' first NFL start on Sunday. They have 30 years of history to back their low expectations, too.
But Sanders. the controversial fifth-round pick this spring, broke the mold. He led the Browns to a 24-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and became the first Browns rookie in 30 years to win his first start at quarterback. First-time starters had been 0-17, while rookies were 0-13. Eric Zeier in 1995 was the last Browns rookie QB to win his debut.
That's 30 years ago! It was so long ago that Bill Belichick was Zeier's coach.
Sanders completed 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards, with one touchdown and an interception. He mostly made good decisions after a rough debut a week ago in a backup role.
“A lot of people want to see me fail,” Sanders said after the win. “It ain’t gonna happen.”
With his first win under his belt, it seems to make total sense for the Browns to give him another start. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wasn't ready to commit to that after the game on Sunday, but it seems like an easy and obvious decision.
Here's the story about the quarterback situation from Browns Roundtable writer Spencer German.
Fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel had been starting, but the went out last week with a concussion. Stefanski had said that it was Gabriel's job when he was healthy, but that might change now.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Stefanski said when asked who his starter is next week. “Proud of (Sanders) and proud of this offense, and there are a ton of things to learn from, but I’m just going to worry about today.”
Since the Browns rejoined the league in 1999, only Tim Couch in 2001 and Baker Mayfield in 2019 and 2020 have started every game in a season. In the other 24 years, the Browns have used multiple starting quarterbacks, which is far and away tops in the league.
Here is the list of Browns starters since they resumed operations in 1999.
1999 — Tim Couch (14 starts), Ty Detmer (2)
2000 — Doug Perderson (8), Tim Couch (7), Spergon Wynn (1)
2001 — Tim Couch (16)
2002 — Tim Couch (14), Kelly Holcomb (2)
2003 — Tim Couch (8), Kelly Holcomb (8)
2004 — Jeff Garcia (10), Luke McCown (4), Kelly Holcomb (2)
2005 — Trent Dilfer (11), Charlie Frye (5)
2006 — Charlie Frye (13), Derek Anderson (3)
2007 — Derek Anderson (15), Charlie Frye (1)
2008 — Derek Anderson (9), Brady Quin (3), Ken Dorsey (3), Bruce Gradkowski (1)
2009 — Brady Quinn (9), Derek Anderson (7)
2010 — Colt McCoy (8), Jake Delhomme (4), Seneca Wallace (4)
2011 — Colt McCoy (13), Seneca Wallace (3)
2012 — Brandon Weeden (15), Thad Lewis (1)
2013 — Jason Campbell (8), Brandon Weeden (5), Brian Hoyer (3)
2014 — Brian Hoyer (13), Johnny Manziel (2), Connor Shaw (1)
2015 — Josh McCown (8), Johnny Manziel (6), Austin Davis (2)
2016 — Cody Kessler (8), Robert Griffin III (5), Josh McCown (3)
2017 — DeShone Kizer (15), Kevin Hogan (1)
2018 — Baker Mayfield (13), Tyrod Taylor (3)
2019 — Baker Mayfield (16)
2020 — Baker Mayfield (16)
2021 — Baker Mayfield (14), Case Keenum (2), Nick Mullens (1)
2022 — Jacoby Brissett (11), Deshaun Watson (6)
2023 — Deshaun Watson (6), Joe Flacco (5), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (3)
2024 — Jameis Winston (7), Deshaun Watson (7), Dorian Thompson-Robinson (2), Bailey Zappe (1)
2025 — Dillon Gabriel (6), Joe Flacco (4), Shedeur Sanders (1).