Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders will start Sunday against the New Orleans Saints — his first regular-season appearance of the 2026 NFL season.
Sanders replaces Deshaun Watson, who entered the NFL’s concussion protocol ahead of Week 9. The Browns are 5–3 after a Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and rank 29th in points per game (17.4).
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ESPN Analytics gives Cleveland a 16.5% chance to make the playoffs. A win over the Saints would raise that probability to 25.4% before four consecutive home games.
Sanders made seven starts as a rookie in 2025 and went 3–4. His 19.0 Total QBR ranked fifth-lowest among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts that season.
Browns coach Todd Monken said Sanders has improved his footwork, dropbacks, mechanics, progression reads, protection awareness and sense of urgency. Offensive coordinator Travis Switzer said Sanders has grown “tremendously” in leadership and command — adding he “let it rip” in practice Wednesday.
Three areas are central to Sanders’ performance: playing within structure, protecting the football and executing pre-snap operations.
His average time to throw was 3.24 seconds in 2025 — slowest among 38 quarterbacks with at least six starts. In two 2026 preseason games, it dropped to 3.10 seconds, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Monken emphasized balancing playmaking instincts with checking down and avoiding lost-yardage plays.
Sanders threw 10 interceptions from Weeks 11 to 18 of the 2025 season — most among all quarterbacks during that stretch. He also had four dropped interceptions, tied for the most in the NFL in 2025. Watson has thrown three interceptions this season but fumbled seven times, losing three.
The Browns have five delay-of-game penalties — tied for fifth-most in the NFL — and five illegal formation penalties — tied for fourth-most. Monken said Sanders must help “eliminate anxiety” at the line. Switzer confirmed the team will use silent counts and shorten calls, especially in the loud indoor environment of the Caesars Superdome.
The game kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
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