Shedeur Sanders turns heads at practice with highlight that shows why he could be the Browns' starter from Day 1
It's a real quarterback competition on the Cleveland Browns, and how the players perform in practice and preseason games will ultimately determine who will start against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. So far, fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders has been as solid and promising as a quarterback could be as early in the process as […]
It's a real quarterback competition on the Cleveland Browns, and how the players perform in practice and preseason games will ultimately determine who will start against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. So far, fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders has been as solid and promising as a quarterback could be as early in the process as the team is.
"He's worked his tail off. He's really put in a lot of work, as all of those guys have. You can tell the mental side of the game, learning the system, calling it, having that rhythm to it," said Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. "He's put a lot of work and time and effort into that. And when you do that, the game starts to slow down and you can focus on finding completions."
Sanders wasn't practicing with the starters when he made the throw you'll see on the video below, but the play shows why the rookie quarterback can eventually start and be a productive quarterback for the Browns. He's extremely accurate and precise with his throws. It's not the strongest arm you'll see, but he generates velocity and places the ball in the perfect spot to allow a catch.
It will be a big ladder for Sanders to climb over the next few months. The Browns have not released any non-official depth chart yet, but Shedeur is presumably the fourth quarterback on the roster, behind Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. The fifth quarterback is Deshaun Watson, who's expected to start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and be there the entire season with an Achilles injury.
The Browns have frequently used a two-spot type of period in practice, allowing all four quarterbacks to have enough reps. Flacco and Pickett share snaps in one place, while both rookies split opportunities in another one.
Shedeur Sanders working out would be some sort of best-case scenario for the Browns. As a fifth-round pick, the quarterback signed a four-year, $4.647 million deal. His $1.161 million yearly average is the lowest among the five QBs on the roster, and there are only $447k in guarantees. A successful cheap quarterback is the best (and possibly only) way to recover from Watson's contract, and early indications are promising — even though, obviously, nothing is definitive at this point of the calendar.
Predicting when Deion Sanders will see Shedeur Sanders make his first NFL start with the Cleveland Browns
It’ll come at some point surely.
