Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been highly publicized this offseason, but that doesn’t mean he’ll start in 2025.

Sanders — a fifth-round pick out of Colorado — is expected to be QB4 on the team’s depth chart behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. First-team reps throughout the offseason have reflected that. 

According to ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, Sanders mainly worked with the backups at Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp. He did the same throughout OTAs.

Sanders indicated he doesn’t expect to start this upcoming season and doesn’t view that as a negative.

“I view things as I got time,” Sanders told the media on Tuesday. “I got time to be able to grow and mature and be able to understand the ins and outs of the defenses and be able to get good insight from the vets in the room. So, I look at it as a plus … Whenever it’s time for me to play, it’s time for me to play. But I’m not really looking too far into the future.”

Many quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and former New England Patriots star Tom Brady, weren’t QB1s during their rookie seasons. That worked out for them.

Brady won seven Super Bowls in 23 seasons with the Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Mahomes has captured three in eight seasons with the Chiefs. 

Sanders, however, must make up more ground. After all, the Browns took Gabriel out of Oregon in the third round of the draft before they selected the former Colorado star.