Shedeur Sanders' abbreviated rookie season has ended in a surprising Pro Bowl bid.
The Cleveland Browns fifth-round signal-caller was added to the Pro Bowl Games roster as a replacement for Drake Maye, who can't participate in the Games ahead of the New England Patriots' appearance in Super Bowl LX.
"Thank you God. I'm beyond excited and extremely grateful for all the love and support from the coaches, players, and fans," Sanders said in a statement, via the team website. "This wouldn't be possible without the support behind me. Still plenty of work to do."
Maye, starter Josh Allen and Justin Herbert were the original Pro Bowl selections for the AFC. Allen and Maye were among the top two fan vote-getters.
Sanders, a high-profile quarterback in the pre-draft process, was the second QB taken by the Browns in the 2025 NFL Draft (No. 144 overall, 50 spots behind Dillon Gabriel) and the third overall to play for Cleveland this season. Joe Flacco was benched for Gabriel, who was sidelined due to injury for Sanders midway through the season.
The former Colorado QB ended up starting a team-high seven games for the Browns, finishing with a 3-4 record, including wins over the Raiders, Bengals and postseason-bound Steelers. In eight appearances in his rookie season, Sanders completed 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 68.1 passer rating.
Of the 36 quarterbacks with at least 200 passing attempts in 2025, Sanders ranked last in completion percentage, passer rating, adjusted yards per attempt (5.14) and adjusted net yards per attempt (3.94). The Browns signal-caller was also second-to-last in interception rate (4.9).
Still, Sanders is now the first Browns QB to make the Pro Bowl since Derek Anderson in 2008. He'll join Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward as Cleveland players to participate in this year's Games.
The 2026 Pro Bowl Games, a celebration of player skills that is highlighted by a flag football game between the AFC and NFC, kick off on Tuesday, Feb. 3 from the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Coverage of the Pro Bowl Games will begin on ESPN starting at 6:30 p.m. ET with the flag game at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN, Disney XD and ESPN Deportes.
