Baker Mayfield knows exactly what Shedeur Sanders is dealing with.
So the current Pro Bowl quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is handing out free advice to the current rookie QB for the Cleveland Browns.
Mayfield, who was drafted by Cleveland at No. 1 overall in 2018, offered Sanders a strong five-word message that could help guide the rookie star through a tumultuous first season with the Browns.
“Since he was young, he’s had the spotlight on him,” Mayfield told USA Today.
“People are gonna be over-critical about every little thing. So I mean the cliché: Control what you can control. As a quarterback, that’s how do you win football games and how do you elevate the guys around you?
“I think he himself has all the pieces he needs to have success, and it’s just about the time and place.”
Sanders is the son of former NFL and MLB superstar Deion Sanders, and was one of the most-hyped QBs in college before falling to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
A sharp preseason debut was a reminder of Shedeur Sanders‘ athletic talent, and ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano exclusively told talkSPORT how Sanders could take over as the Browns’ starting QB this season.
“If he can get healthy and continue to put on tape some of the stuff he did in their first preseason game, yes, I think there’s a chance he could move up the depth chart to start this year,” Graziano said.
“They have two first-round picks next year. If they’re thinking quarterback in next year’s draft, it would behove them to know what they have on their roster already.
“So it probably makes sense — unless they’re in contention — for them to take a look at all these guys at some point this year.”
With rookies Dillon Gabriel and Sanders impressing Browns fans, a team that went 3-14 last year now features six quarterbacks.
Joe Flacco recently was named the starter, while Kenny Pickett and Tyler Huntley are on the roster, and Deshaun Watson, who has been spotted back in practice, could be active this season.
But Sanders is one of the hottest players in the league, and he’s been a must-watch during training camp.
Mayfield previously appeared on the New Heights podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce, and was asked how the Browns can ‘fix their quarterback situation’.
“I plead the fifth,” Mayfield joked, as the Kelce brothers broke out into laughter.
“Not my problem anymore.”
Sanders is recovering from an oblique injury, which could give Pickett or Gabriel the inside track to be Flacco’s backup.
While Mayfield advised Sanders to ‘control’ what he can control, the best way for the rookie from Colorado to become an NFL starter is to keep impressing the Browns and their devoted fans.
“My understanding is, other than the speeding tickets, everything he’s done since he got there has been very well received by the team, by his teammates, by the coaching staff,” Graziano said.
Mayfield, 30, spent his initial four pro seasons in Cleveland.
He finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, but was pushed out after the Browns won a bidding war for Watson.
Mayfield has made the Pro Bowl and reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons with Tampa Bay.
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