Shedeur Sanders’s latest message reads more like one of those cryptic posts his father, Deion Sanders, has become known for dropping on social media from time to time. While some may ignore Deion’s posts, the timing of his son’s post made it impossible to ignore. It pointed directly at the growing noise around the league about Sanders’ role with the Cleveland Browns.

“Learn to value the opinions of those who care about you, not the noise from everyone else,” Sanders wrote on X on March 13.

Right now, Sanders is part of a three-quarterback room. The Browns have Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Deshaun Watson on the depth chart. But the situation was far messier when last season kicked off. Cleveland carried four quarterbacks into the year, and Sanders had to earn every snap he got.

Under former head coach Kevin Stefanski, the Browns opened the 2025 season with Joe Flacco as the starter. Flacco went 1-3, and the team turned to Gabriel on the logic that he was drafted before Sanders. Gabriel went 1-5. 

The Cleveland crowd grew louder, and the fans wanted Sanders. Eventually, the Browns listened, and Sanders stepped in, finishing the season with a 3-4 record. That’s the best mark among all three quarterbacks. Yet questions about his long-term role as the starter never went away.

Part of why those questions linger comes down to what Sanders struggles with most: breaking the pocket. When pressure closes in, he tends to hold the ball too long and ends up throwing into trouble. 

Last season, he threw 10 interceptions with a 4.7 interception rate, the highest among the three quarterbacks. Gabriel threw just two picks, and Flacco threw six. Sanders was also sacked 23 times, the highest among the three again. 

So the Browns have decided to open up the quarterback competition once again heading into this offseason. General Manager Andrew Berry and new head coach Todd Monken have both made it clear that the starting job is up for grabs and must be earned. But with what is now coming out in a report from a Browns insider, the idea of Sanders locking down that starting role is looking increasingly difficult.

Browns’ insider raises serious doubts about Shedeur Sanders’ film study

According to The Athletic’s Cleveland Browns columnist Jason Lloyd, multiple sources inside the organization have raised serious concerns about Shedeur Sanders’ preparation habits, specifically his ability to process what he sees on tape.

“Enough people have said things like, ‘Doesn’t watch a ton of film. Doesn’t really know how to watch film. Had to sort of be shown how to watch film. Doesn’t know what he’s looking at on the field. Doesn’t know when he’s hot.’ All this stuff, and people just lost their minds over it,” Lloyd said on 92.3 The Fan.

It is a damning set of claims, and one that sounds eerily familiar. During the 2025 draft, Sanders’ slide all the way down to the fifth round was driven by similar red flags. Teams flagged him as arrogant and difficult to work with. 

The narrative at the time was that the talent was there, but the attitude was a problem. Now, Lloyd is suggesting that the gap between what fans believe about Sanders and what people inside the building actually think is wider than most realize.

“I’ve been doing this 25 years,” Lloyd added. “I have never seen a story like this where what is said behind the doors and the public narrative is this far off. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s stunning in so many ways.”

That said, the quarterback race is not over for Sanders. His clearest path to the starting job runs directly through Watson’s health. If Watson remains unable to play, Sanders enters the competition as a genuine frontrunner. But if Watson does take the field and proves he can stay healthy, Sanders is reportedly expected to settle into the backup role, with Gabriel potentially getting traded out of Cleveland.