Shedeur Sanders can be the ‘franchise guy,’ Browns legend Joe Thomas says

A tumultuous beginning to Shedeur Sanders‘ career is starting to take shape.

After unexpectedly falling from a potential top-five pick to being drafted in the fifth round, Sanders wound up being the third quarterback on the Cleveland Browns‘ depth chart, in part because they traded Kenny Pickett.

Joe Flacco was traded, and then fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel got hurt, thus giving Sanders a chance. He won his first NFL start and has remained the starter ever since.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws a pass in the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Cleveland, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)

It’s been a mixed bag for Sanders, who has five touchdowns against six interceptions. Three of those touchdowns came last week against the Tennessee Titans, but three of his interceptions came in a 31-3 beatdown by the Chicago Bears.

It doesn’t help that his top target in Jerry Jeudy has trouble catching the football and his offensive line is depleted, but that’s why Browns legend Joe Thomas believes the Browns need to look beyond the box score.

“I think he’s done a really nice job … I think he’s got a great opportunity to make a name for himself and make a case to be the franchise guy so that the Browns then can use their two first-round draft choices to build around him and then make him the starter throughout the offseason and into training camp and really give him every opportunity to win that job,” Thomas said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.

“For the guys that are in that room: the quarterback’s coach, the offensive coordinator, the guys that are teaching him and coaching him on what to do every single day, there has to be a level of trust between them… It’s very important that he understands, ‘I need to just do my job as if all the other guys around me are going to do their job and have that trust,’ and whether they do it or not is not going to affect the evaluation that they have of him and the job that he’s doing in the progress that he’s making. It’s a very difficult thing for anybody to do, much less a rookie. But I think that’s the key right there for him to be able to make those steps to prove to the Browns that he is their franchise guy.”

Those two first-rounders, including their own, which currently sits at No. 4, could be enough to potentially move up to the top spot for Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, but Thomas said the Browns have the keys to the car, and it’s on them to unlock what they already have in Sanders.

Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders (12) and Teven Jenkins (74) celebrate a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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“I think just trying to get him to understand he’s got to operate within the confines of the offense and within what they’re asking him to do. But you still don’t want to handicap and handcuff what he is really at his best with, which is making some off-schedule plays, rising to the moment, extending plays and finding those receivers down the field. That was something that they hadn’t got from Dillon Gabriel earlier in the season, and so I think those are the things with those explosive plays, those things that maybe are unscripted, is where he can separate himself…” Thomas said. “And I think that is really the key, because that’s what made him such a popular player in college. 

“That’s what makes him continue to be a really popular player and to have a lot of people on his side, not just Browns fans. So I think you never want to handcuff a guy from what his strengths are, and you want to just try to, within the confines of that offense, within what you’re asking him to, allow him to be unlocked to really dive in and lean into what he does best.”

The 2025 campaign is another year when the Browns will be home during Super Bowl weekend, but Thomas is helping fans have Las Vegas plans simply by playing UNO. Thomas partnered with Mattel for the UNO Elite Championships, which are free to register for, where the grand prize is a three-day trip to Las Vegas on Super Bowl weekend.

“It’s like a Hunger Games-style UNO championship going on right now, people are going to be killing each other over that trophy,” Thomas joked. “When you’re a kid, it’s an easy game to learn, it’s fun, but it’s also fun for the parents. And so, as a lifelong UNO player, a lifelong UNO fan, and now that I’ve got my own kids, we get to play UNO at home, it was a cool opportunity to collaborate with them.”

Browns fans are hoping to have plans to have a real rooting interest during the Super Bowl, and Thomas believes Sanders can give the fan base some hope.

“I think it’s a bit challenging, but he’s got to do it with his play. And I think making those big plays in those moments down the stretch here, making those big-time throws, those are the things that can give Browns fans hope, right?” Thomas said. “Obviously, having your receivers hold up their end of the bargain and catching the football and completing those plays, but just seeing Shedeur out there, seeing him make those big plays, seeing him take that team down the field in the two-minute drill, that would go a long way for giving Browns fans the feeling that this is the guy and giving them comfort that this franchise is in really good hands with him at quarterback. So that’s what I’m hoping that we find the rest of the season.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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“Of course, we have some fun sprinkled in there with Myles [Garrett] chasing the sack record and a few more games this season to be able to hopefully get that. But as much as it is about Myles getting that sack record, we know the long-term health of this franchise is all about the quarterback position. The early Christmas present would be to see Myles get the sack record this weekend and then also see Shedeur play a great game, minimize his mistakes, and maybe have a game-winning drive and do the Josh Allen thing to Josh Allen, where he brings his team back, and he scores the points necessary to win, and I think a lot of people in Cleveland will be having a very Merry Christmas a little bit early.”

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