One year into his NFL career, Shedeur Sanders remains a polarizing player.
To some, the former Colorado star was statistically one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL over the course of his seven starts with the Cleveland Browns during his rookie season. To others, Sanders showed plenty of potential and at least played well enough to be selected as an alternate for the Pro Bowl Games.
In case you were wondering which side of the debate Tim Hasselbeck now falls on, he made it crystal clear on Wednesday morning.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up, the ex-NFL quarterback was asked whether the Browns should enter the 2026 season planning to build around Sanders as their starting quarterback. Hasselbeck responded with a definitive no, before suggesting that the 23-year-old might not even be Cleveland’s top backup at the position.
“They won’t [build around Sanders] and I mean that’s just the reality of it,” Hasselbeck said. “I’m sure he’ll be on the roster because he’s on a rookie contract, or at least he’ll be on the training camp roster. He’s on a rookie contract from a year ago, much like Dillon Gabriel. I would think the Browns would add somebody with starter experience to compete because there’s just no way with just probably what the evaluation has been of Shedeur as a player in the pros now, as well as how he came into the league, that they would give him the opportunity.
“I mean, quite frankly, I don’t think he would even enter training camp as the second guy on the roster. So I don’t think that’s how they’ll operate. It’s hard to become a head coach in the NFL and if you do, you’ve got to try to win with a quarterback. And most guys, including Todd Monken, aren’t going to try to do it with somebody like Shedeur.”
Tim Hasselbeck a career backup QB was talking reckless about Shedeur. Damien Woody was talking crazy too. He was quiet went Rex Ryan was talking bad about Shedeur a while back. Jeff Saturday was the only solid one 💯. Talking about a young rookie is Crazy Nasty Wild Work. pic.twitter.com/qF5QmxfvJH
— MrWhatsGoingOn (@MrWhatsGoingOn1) February 4, 2026
As you may have noticed based on the social media post above, Hasselbeck’s analysis didn’t sit well with Sanders’ fanbase. And that included ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Rizzo, who offered a fiery response on Thursday’s episode of The Really Big Show.
RIZZ HAS BEEF WITH TIM HASSELBECK OVER HIS SHEDEUR COMMENTS 👀👀👀
Do you agree with Rizz? https://t.co/HKOwR5vevv pic.twitter.com/qbw9VG7pPz
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) February 5, 2026
As for Monken, the new Browns head coach has made it clear that he’s a fan of Sanders’ game — so much so that the Baltimore Ravens attempted to draft him when he was serving as the team’s offensive coordinator. But when given the opportunity to commit to the second-year signal-caller as his starting quarterback at his introductory press conference in Cleveland, he declined to do so, perhaps indicating that there’s more truth in Hasselbeck’s analysis than many of his fans would care to admit.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.