Could Shedeur Sanders’ fortunes in Cleveland slowly be changing?
Even with Kenny Pickett sidelined with a hamstring injury, Shedeur still appears to be at the bottom of the Browns’ quarterback depth chart.
Wednesday was the first time through OTAs and the start of training camp that Sanders has even been able to get reps against the starting defense, completing two of his three passes during the brief period.
Given that his session wasn’t a complete disaster and Pickett’s return is still up in the air, Shedeur could be in a prime position to take a massive leap forward and assert himself in this four-way battle.
The creators of one of football’s most prominent video games think he’s already better than his fellow first-year signal-caller teammate.
EA recently released rookie ratings for its upcoming Madden 26 title, giving Shedeur a 67 overall, which is one notch higher than Dillon Gabriel, who was drafted two rounds higher than the Colorado product.
Despite being the sixth quarterback off the board, he has the fourth-highest overall grade in his class.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise.
A publishing company has no interest in being the barometer of talent in the NFL, but instead needs to find a way to repackage the latest edition of its flagship game.
Shedeur has an extensive fan base that will now get a chance to develop him more easily in specific modes, which could help sell some extra copies.
If Gabriel ends up winning the starting job, would they swiftly rectify this wild decision? Probably not, and that’s why it shouldn’t matter.
