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Shedeur Sanders will start for the Cleveland Browns in their Week 13 game against the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday.
Stefanski was initially noncommittal about giving Sanders another crack as a starter. But after a few hours of thinking about it, the two-time Coach of the Year made his decision.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) runs with the ball against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“Obviously, the No. 1 job for a quarterback is to win,” Stefanski told reporters. “So we were excited to get that first win under his belt and then the next thing is improvement. That’s what young players do. Of course young quarterbacks do. You get better one game and that’s just working on it. So that’s going to be our focus.”
Sanders had some dazzling moments in the Browns’ 24-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, but only completed about 55% of his passes. He had a 66-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Sampson, who the running back made a great play to break through the defense for the score.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) talks with head coach Kevin Stefanski during the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/Imagn Images)
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Stefanski said he “by and large” thought the offense did a good job and touted Sanders’ confidence that he will adjust to the speed of the NFL.
Sanders vowed Sunday to prove all his critics wrong.
“Everybody starts in different places. Like I said, just because I didn’t get summer reps, just because I wasn’t in the best situation for me to be prepared to go out there and execute from a summer standpoint — that’s life,” he said. “Everybody’s not in the best situation. But that’s no excuse. I have to go out there and perform. There’s no choice. There’s no question.
“No one cares if this was a week of preparation. Who cares? So many people want to see me fail — it’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen.”
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Cleveland selected Sanders in the fifth round of the draft out of Colorado. He moved up the depth chart since his time in organized team activities through the regular season.
