Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders says he can only control what he can control when asked if he feels he has done enough to earn a starting role for the team.

The Browns lost 23-22 in overtime on the road to the New Orleans Saints, falling to 5-4. It was Sanders’ first start of the season, in Week 9. It was also the first time this season the Browns had lost two games in a row.

Sanders was handed the job because starting quarterback Deshaun Watson was sidelined in the NFL’s concussion protocol. Head coach Todd Monken announced the decision during the week.

Watson suffered a helmet-to-helmet hit during the Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The hit came from Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker, and Watson returned to the game after being cleared by an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant.

The Browns said Watson was evaluated again after the game and on Monday morning and showed no symptoms. He began experiencing symptoms on Monday night and told the medical staff the next morning.

He was then placed in the protocol. He missed Wednesday and Thursday’s practices and returned in a limited fashion on Friday. That left him unable to take full practice reps and made Sanders the choice to take over under center.

Watson had finished the Pittsburgh game, a 27-6 loss, completing 27 of 39 passes for 324 yards. He had started all eight games for the Browns this season after winning the starting job over Sanders in the preseason, and led the team to a 5-3 start.

Sanders finished 19 of 31 for 297 yards and two touchdowns. He managed just 38 passing yards in the first half before helping Cleveland recover from a sluggish offensive start.

The comeback fell one point short. Afterwards, Sanders was asked whether his performance had earned him the job when Watson returns. He called it a “setup question” in the postgame press conference.

He said he controls what he controls, and that what he thinks in the grand scheme of things does not matter. He added that he wants to be a great teammate.

Sanders also said he has learned from watching Watson, and that he cannot look at his situation negatively.

Monken, for his part, declined to wade into the quarterback question. He said the game had ended only about 30 minutes earlier, and he was not getting into quarterback.

Sunday’s game pitted two quarterbacks from the 2025 NFL draft class against each other. The Saints bypassed Sanders and took Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick, while the Browns traded up in the fifth round to select Sanders.

In his rookie year, Sanders played in eight games and started the final seven, going 3-4. He threw for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns, with a 57.2% completion rate and 10 interceptions. His first season ended with plenty of questions to answer and a lack of firm evidence that he could be the Browns’ long-term answer at quarterback.

Watson, who acquired by Cleveland in a trade with the Texans ahead of the 2022 season, is playing in his first full season of action since his 2024 injury. His eight starts to open the year were the longest in-season run he has had as the Browns’ starter since the trade.

Cleveland hosts Houston before its Week 11 bye. Whether Watson is cleared and who starts that game has not been confirmed.