Browns' Shedeur Sanders is about to step into one of the strangest traditions in the NFL: being the next man up at quarterback for his team.
With Dillon Gabriel sidelined after a concussion in Week 11, Sanders will make his first NFL start against the Las Vegas Raiders, becoming the 42nd different starting QB the franchise has trotted out since its 1999 return. For a team still desperate to end decades of instability under center, this debut will be watched very closely inside and outside the building.
He will not be alone on that sideline. As Adam Schefter reported on X, Deshaun Watson made his first road trip of the season and will be on the Browns’ sideline in Las Vegas, helping Sanders through his first NFL start against the Raiders, a detail originally noted by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. It is a rare chance for the rookie to lean on the experience of a former Pro Bowler while navigating a hostile environment in prime time.
Watson’s presence should matter most between series. He can help Sanders process coverages, protection checks, and blitz looks, and talk through when to get the ball out instead of holding it and taking hits.
Sanders arrives with plenty of name recognition and upside, but the knock coming out of college was that he sometimes held onto the ball too long. Having a veteran in his ear on the bench could help speed up that learning curve in real time.
Of course, Watson’s own situation is complicated. As USA Today recently detailed, one of the last remaining civil lawsuits against him in Houston is scheduled for trial in February 2026, with dozens of earlier cases already settled confidentially and an 11-game suspension handed down by the NFL in 2022.
Those off-field issues still hang over both player and franchise, even as he rehabs from injury and shifts into more of a mentor role on game day.
For now, though, Cleveland’s focus is simple: give Shedeur Sanders every possible tool to succeed. If he shows poise and command with Watson guiding him from the sideline, the Browns might finally catch a glimpse of the long-term answer they’ve been chasing for a quarter century.
