Back in ’99, when the Browns returned to the NFL, Cleveland hopped for a fresh start in America’s favorite sport. But since then, the team has cycled through 40 starting quarterbacks, searching for that elusive franchise leader. Each new hope seemed to fade from Tim Couch to Baker Mayfield, leaving the Dawg Pound yearning for stability under center. Long story short: the quarterback carousel became a defining feature of the team’s post-1999 identity.

Enter Shedeur Sanders, a talented quarterback from Colorado, drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft. Despite his college success under his dad’s leadership, he joins a crowded QB room with veterans like Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. And yes, injured Deshaun Watson as well. Cleveland’s decision to move up and draft Sanders made sense. The franchise has seen more QB conundrums than Ross Geller’s divorces.

But with the QB room stacked up with a bunch of QBs—all looking to get an opportunity to prove their worth, Sanders’ fate in his rookie season is still uncertain. Will Kevin Stefanski allow him to start? Or will Shedeur warm the bench the whole season? We can’t say that. However, the former Browns quarterback, Bernie Kosar, isn’t in favor of Shedeur sitting out the whole season.

On Wednesday, Kosar stopped by the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show for the first time since the 2025 NFL draft, where he shared his thoughts on Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel & how to handle the QB situation in camp. When asked if the rookie QBs should sit out the whole year or the Browns should roll one of ’em (Sanders or Gabriel) out there, Kosar straight-up claimed that he isn’t in favor of sitting out the whole year.

“I would like to see, for their own development, look, we haven’t developed a quarterback since 1999, since the team’s comeback,” Kosar explained. “A lot of it, because it’s not their whole bus, they play too early on teams that aren’t ready to accept them and mesh together. So, sitting out the whole year, I’m not in favor of, but sitting out a portion of it to let the offense get more acclimated.” 

See, the major problem for the Browns’ QB room (despite having a good season with Mayfield, of course) is that they haven’t remained consistent with their rookie QBs after throwing them in the spotlight too soon. Most notably? Yeah, Mayfield. After the QB led Cleveland to the playoffs in his third season, his next season was marred by injuries and public fallout with the team. The result? Cleveland traded him and signed Deshaun Watson. The rest is history.

So, Kosar believes that before throwing the rookie QBs (Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel) in the limelight, the Browns could sit them out for a small portion of the season rather than sitting out the whole year. Why? To take a grasp of the team’s offense and style before fully jumping right in. Plain and simple. After all, they’re one of the few teams that are looking for a franchise quarterback. Plus, Sanders can also develop behind the veteran Joe Flacco.

Shedeur Sanders is excited to be on the same team as Joe Flacco

Over a decade ago, Joe Flacco pulled off one of the greatest strings of playoff performances as a quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens. The QB led the Baltimore team to the Super Bowl XLVII title with 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions throughout the postseason run. So, when Shedeur Sanders expressed his excitement to be on the same team as Flacco, it all made sense.

Recently, the former Colorado QB talked with Kay Adams during the Browns’ rookie premier, where he was asked how the Browns’ eclectic QB room is shaping up. The guy has nothing but mutual respect for his fellow QBs. But what caught everyone’s attention is that Shedeur was joyful when addressing the fact that he’s a teammate of Flacco.

“It’s funny going in there and seeing Joe every day,” he said. “It’s funny seeing him because at practice I’m like, wow, I’m really with Joe Flacco right now. We’re on the same team! So that’s cool.” And when Adams asked why Flacco impresses him so much, the guy just grinned as he struggled to put it into words. “It’s just so funny, he’s sitting there and we’re on the same team,” Sanders added.

While we’re at it, Flacco is presumed to be the starting quarterback of the Browns for the 2025 season. And it’s still a mystery if Shedeur Sanders will start or not. Odds are favoring him, though, and Coach Kevin Stefanski is in a tricky situation. But we’ll see.