Shedeur Sanders To Start For Browns Vs. 49ers In Week 13

After starting in Sunday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders will start again in Week 13.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Monday that Sanders will start next Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. 

"Shedeur will start this week," Stefanksi said at his Monday news conference. "The No. 1 job of a quarterback is to win. So excited to get that first win under his belt.

"And then, next thing is improvement. And that's what young players do, certainly young quarterbacks do. You get one game better, and that's just from working at it. And that'll be our focus."

[Get more Browns news: Cleveland team feed]

Sanders, a rookie fifth-round draft pick who started the season as the No. 4 quarterback on Cleveland's depth chart, made his NFL regular-season debut in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens in relief of injured starter Dillon Gabriel, who had sustained a concussion.

With Gabriel still in concussion protocol, Sanders made his first NFL start in Sunday's 24-10 win over the Raiders. Sanders completed 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. His performance alongside Cleveland's third win in 11 games was enough for Stefanski to name him the starter for Week 13. 

Dillon Gabriel is cleared to play

Stefanski also announced Monday that Gabriel had cleared concussion protocol, indicating that the decision is not injury related and that Sanders has replaced him as Cleveland's starting quarterback. 

Sanders will face a much stiffer test in Week 13 after Sunday's win over a Raiders team that's among the worst in the NFL and allowed 10 sacks against Cleveland. The 49ers (7-4) are seeking to secure a spot in the postseason. Cleveland will host Sunday's game.

Why name Sanders the starter now?

The decision to start Sanders with seven games remaining on their schedule will give the Browns time to assess Sanders' viability as a starter heading into the offseason. The now 3-8 Browns have long been out of the playoff picture, so they can focus the remainder of the season on talent evaluation and building for the future ahead of a draft in which they have two first-round draft picks — their own and that of the Jacksonville Jaguars after trading down from No. 2 to No. 5 in the 2025 draft.

Next year's draft is not projected as particularly strong at quarterback. Regardless, it serves the Browns to have a grasp on both Sanders' and Gabriel's long-term potential heading into the offseason.