How Shedeur Sanders is making strides in Browns’ QB competition

BEREA, Ohio — A day after the Cleveland Browns’ 2025 season ended, general manager Andrew Berry called quarterback Shedeur Sanders, fresh off a seven-start rookie campaign, a “work in progress.”

Five months later, at the conclusion of the Browns’ offseason workout program, Berry lauded what he called “phenomenal” growth from the second-year passer.

“I think he’s had an excellent spring,” Berry told 92.3 “The Fan” last week. “… I think he did a phenomenal job this offseason. That really started in January and February, and then certainly as we got into having real practices in May, his growth has been tremendous. We’re all very excited to see Shedeur’s fall camp, preseason, things of that nature when we get into padded situations, live situations, less scripted. But his growth has truly been phenomenal.”

While new Browns coach Todd Monken ultimately decided not to name a starter after mandatory minicamp last week and extended Cleveland’s quarterback competition into training camp, it’s in part because of Sanders’ improvement in two key areas: footwork and processing.

The 2025 fifth-round pick had an up-and-down stretch as Cleveland’s starter, throwing seven touchdowns to 10 interceptions in eight games. At his best, though, Sanders was an aggressive passer with the ability to make plays with his arm and legs. Sanders’ 275 combined scramble rush and passing yards were eighth most in the NFL over the final eight games of the season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

However, a recurring issue he struggled with in college continued in the pros: holding onto the ball for too long. In 2025, he averaged a 3.24-second time to throw, which ranked the highest in NFL since he made his debut in Week 11. A lack of continuity with the starters — his first practice reps with them came before his first start in Week 12 — played a role, but Sanders acknowledged the need to get the ball out quicker.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, 53.3% of Sanders’ passes were in rhythm, meaning the throw came between 2.5 and 4.0 seconds; this ranked ninth out of 30 qualifying quarterbacks from Weeks 11 to 18. But 18.9% of Sanders’ attempts were extended, meaning the throw came after four seconds — the second-highest rate in the NFL, behind only the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. It led to the 14 pressures on dropbacks when Sanders held the ball for at least four seconds (third most in the league) and three sacks on extended dropbacks (tied for second most).

As Sanders learned Monken’s playbook this spring, a big emphasis was going through his progressions quicker and tightening up his footwork as part of it.

“He’s done a great job of defining his footwork, playing with a base, learning the offense, working his butt off to really master his craft,” quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian said. “And it’s been fun to watch. He’s done a really good job. … [He’s] getting through progressions faster, and his feet are matching that mindset.

“We hammer the quarterbacks and the appropriate footwork that corresponds to the timing and space of the concept,” Bajakian later said. “So you can tell without the full speed rush whether their timing is off, the timing mechanisms of the drop technique.”

This spring, Browns’ quarterbacks practiced with GoPro cameras placed on top of their helmets. The tool’s microphone allows coaches to replay audio of each quarterback and hear not only how they call plays in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage but also ensure that the cadence is as desired. The video capabilities also give the coaching staff a unique, first-person perspective of the quarterbacks’ decision-making and where their eyes are in the progression.

It has been a valued tool to monitor development in the scheme, as Monken’s offense will give his quarterbacks plenty of autonomy to make audibles and change plays at the line of scrimmage.

“[Sanders’] progress has been impressive,” offensive coordinator Travis Switzer said. “Just his ability to move through progressions. His feet are getting more urgent, and he’s ready to throw when he needs to more consistently. We can continue to grow there, but his progress has been impressive.”

Perhaps the progress can be attributed to the 24-year-old Sanders mostly staying in Cleveland to work out over the offseason — which didn’t go unnoticed.

“He’s been in Cleveland most of the winter, and I think that says a lot for his dedication to wanting to be an NFL quarterback and what it takes,” Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said at the league meetings in March. “His body looks better. I think he’s been working hard. So, I think it’s hard for a lot of college kids to understand what it takes to play in the NFL, and particularly, quarterback. I think Shedeur got an education in that, and my instincts are he’ll come back ready to play.”

Sanders said it was important to be in Cleveland.

“This is the most important thing I have to do in my life,” he said. “I have a house here. I’m comfortable, and I wanted to take everything to the next level within myself. I know there’s some things that I wanted to improve, and I took a lot of time to self-reflect and just view a lot of things just from a different perspective, honestly. And I think I covered a lot of ground with that.”

The next step will be carrying over his progress into training camp. Monken said he wants to see Sanders and Deshaun Watson in more game-like settings with padded practices, a livelier pass rush and possibly preseason games.

“I think he’s being more decisive,” Monken said. “Now, it’s easy to say we’re not in pads. It just feels like he’s making quicker decisions. The ball’s coming out of his hands, which he’s gonna have to do. Not that he doesn’t have playmaking ability, because he does, but his ability to process quicker and get the ball out of his hands and eliminate lost yardage plays is going to be huge for us to be able to stack plays and score, which is ultimately the number one thing here.”