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The Cleveland Browns have a decision to make at quarterback this offseason. Will they give the starting job back to Deshaun Watson with him healthy again? Will they move forward with Shedeur Sanders as QB1? Or could Cleveland hop on the quarterback carousel and search for someone else via free agency or the draft?

When Todd Monken was introduced as the Browns' new coach this week, he was asked about Sanders -- who was named to the Pro Bowl as an alternate following his rookie season. Monken said he was excited about Sanders, but the starting quarterback was "still to be determined." Some believe Sanders did enough in limited action as a rookie to be named the starter moving forward, such as Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, who went on a four-minute rant about the Browns and Sanders during a recent appearance on "Up & Adams." 

"What does Cleveland have? Absolutely nothing," Smith said. "So what's the debate? Are you going to give it to Dillon [Gabriel] again?"

Smith said that in the eight games Sanders played in 2025, it became clear he was the best option Cleveland had. 

"I haven't seen anyone else earn the right to be that, but him" Smith said. "And he hasn't played enough, and they haven't given him enough chances to be on the football field, and when he's on the football field, they feel better. They look better." 

Given the fact that Smith played with Deion Sanders during their Dallas Cowboys days, he said that he's known Shedeur since he was a child. Growing up under one of the best athletes of all time, Sanders was basically raised to be great, and his confidence is contagious. 

"The team believes different. His energy is different. His swag is different. His level of confidence is different. Notice I said confidence, I didn't say nothing about arrogance. His level of confidence is different," Smith said. "So he believes that he has the ability to do it. He's not walking out there thinking, 'Can I do it?' Or 'Do I have the possibility to do it? No, I'm going to make it happen.'"

Check out Smith's full rant, here:

Sanders went 3-4 as the starter, and completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions this past season. While he began the year as the emergency third quarterback behind Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel, Sanders got his first career start in Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders and became the first Browns quarterback to win his first career start since 1995. In a 24-10 victory, he completed 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards, one touchdown and one interception. However, things didn't improve after his first career start, as Sanders registered the second-worst completion percentage and threw an NFL-high 10 interceptions over the final eight weeks of the season.

Sanders was statistically one of the worst starting quarterbacks in 2025, but he was still better than where he was selected at in the 2025 NFL Draft. The former Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year does have potential, but more reps are needed for development.