Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Cowher thinks the Cleveland Browns should make a quarterback change.
Shedeur Sanders replaced starting QB Deshaun Watson (concussion) in Cleveland’s Week 9 road game against the New Orleans Saints. Although the Browns lost 23-22, former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Cowher liked what he saw from the second-year QB.
The CBS analyst liked it so much that he said Sanders should remain the starter.
Bill Cowher says Shedeur Sanders should be Browns QB1
“Shedeur Sanders should be the starter for this football team. He’s gonna be the future,” one-time Super Bowl champion Cowher said. “I think what he showed today was his resiliency in coming back. He made great decisions. He extended plays. I love the way he played.”
Will the Browns listen to Bill Cowher?
Browns head coach Todd Monken said he was “proud of [Sanders]” in his postgame news conference but refused to comment on whether he will continue to start.
Monken must see more before making a major change at the most important position. Watson has posted a below-average 91.2 passer rating in eight games this season, but Sanders still makes too many mistakes to be a certifiable starting QB.
Now that’s not to say Sanders doesn’t have flashes. His 40-yard throw to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game is a prime example of excellent quarterbacking. His failed two-point conversion attempt in overtime is the opposite.
Not to mention Sanders — who finished 19 of 31 passing for 297 yards and two TD passes — must prove himself against a better pass defense. Entering Week 9, the Saints ranked 24th in passing yards allowed (233.3 YPG).
Sanders, of course, deserves another opportunity to show what he can do. The problem is he may not get that chance in Cleveland. Watson was cleared from concussion protocol just before Sunday’s game. After he went 5-3 in eight starts, expect the Browns (5-4) to give him the keys to the offense again in Week 10 at home against the Houston Texans.
Cowher and others will argue that’s a mistake, but for now, the Browns don’t seem willing to listen.
