Colorado Buffaloes football legend Shedeur Sanders’ preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers didn’t get a follow-up performance due to shoulder issues last week when the Cleveland Browns played the Philadelphia Eagles.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski liked what he saw from Dillon Gabriel against the Eagles, and as things stand, he’s the primary backup to QB1 Joe Flacco. For as long as Kenny Pickett is injured, Sanders is QB3.
What kind of existence is that? The Athletic’s Jayson Lloyd can’t explain it.
“Since Gabriel remains the preferred choice of the head coach after OTAs, minicamps and training camp, and the Browns are intent on taking another quarterback in the first round next year, why keep Sanders? It’s just clouding the airspace and limiting the reps for everyone,” Lloyd wrote.
“Of course, the answer is a fear that Sanders may develop elsewhere, which is entirely possible. If Sanders spends the next few months making gains in the film room and learning to process a complex offense, the payoff could be substantial. However, another college quarterback class is about to form, and time is not on Sanders’ side. He remains in purgatory — enough potential to make you want to see more, but not enough reps to get there.”
Cleveland is essentially wasting Sanders’ time. It’s unclear if NFL teams have changed their tune on Sanders since the draft, given his experience inside a pro locker room and successful live-reps under his belt.
The “Grown QB” isn’t being given a chance to see if that’s even the case, being stuck behind Gabriel despite more encouraging results, albeit against worse-coached competition in Carolina than the ex-Oregon Duck, Oklahoma Sooner, and UCF Knight faced with the defending champions’ backups.
We’ll see if the NFL’s alleged conspiracy against Sanders continues to be a talking point because of unexplainable behavior from Stefanski and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.
