Shedeur Sanders may start on Sunday for Browns

An injury to Deshaun Watson could have Shedeur Sanders starting for the possible playoff-bound Cleveland Browns this week — that is if the former Buffs star can pull off a win.

The veteran quarterback has been placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol, putting his status in doubt for Sunday’s bout in New Orleans. The Browns, who are 5-3 and just lost a big AFC North game in which Watson suffered a head to head hit early in the game but returned to play most of it, are in a division where every team is .500 or better. So oddsmakers are giving the Browns a better chance to miss the dance than make it as of now.

If the Browns can win on Sunday, it’ll put them at six wins through nine games — a strong position. And that may come down to Sanders, who many thought would be this team’s QB in the first place.

Both because of off the field issues and on the field struggles the last time he was healthy, the tides seemed to be in Sanders favor. The 2025 fifth-round pick out of Boulder started seven games as a rookie, completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season, going 3-4 in those games, earning a Pro Bowl bid. But Sanders has been pushed down to backup this season after losing a quarterback competition to Watson, who has comeback from an Achilles injury.

“Last year I say I was able to see what I need to see, feel different things during the games and understand what I need to get better at,” Sanders said. “So then going to this offseason, we worked on that and training camp of course and this offseason and overall I’m just excited for the opportunity.”

Shedeur's learned a lot since last season pic.twitter.com/uv1wZuloBW

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 4, 2026

Watson has started every game so far this season, completing 65.5% of his passes for 1,806 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

So who starts Sunday?

Coach Todd Monken didn’t rule Watson out for the game, but he did say it was “a little more difficult for a quarterback” to work his way through the protocol and play that same week.

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