The Cleveland Browns saw Shedeur Sanders play a very sharp game in their preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately, he missed the team’s second preseason game due to an oblique injury.
In Week 3 of the preseason, Sanders did not receive much playing time. He completed three of his six pass attempts for 14 yards throughout the game.
What was strange about that performance is that head coach Kevin Stefanski opted to pull Sanders late in the game. He put Tyler Huntley into the game, who was clearly not going to make the 53-man roster. That decision was strange when he could have given Sanders more valuable late-game reps.
Stefanski and the Browns have been facing accusations about intentionally putting Sanders in positions to fail. At the very least, they’re being accused of working hard to give Dillon Gabriel a better chance at success than Sanders.
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Despite all of the outside noise, Cleveland has continued business as usual.
During his meeting with the press on Sunday, Stefanski spoke out about the theories that have been circulating. He made it clear that he’s working to develop Sanders just like he would with any other young player.
“I don’t concern myself with outside types of things, but I’m committed to his development just like all of our rookies,” Stefanski said.
While that won’t stop the rumors and speculation, Stefanski was very clear. He’s working to help Sanders grow and improve as a player just as much as he is Gabriel or any other rookie. No preferential treatment is being given.
Sanders has put himself in a place to receive some hype about starting during his rookie season. He showed flashes of the elite potential that everyone has been talking about. However, there is clearly work for him to do.
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It will be interesting to see what the rest of the 2025 season has in store for the Browns at the quarterback position. Joe Flacco will be the Week 1 starter, but he is far from being guaranteed to start the whole year.
Kenny Pickett, Gabriel, and Sanders will all be pushing for playing time. In the meantime, Cleveland should expect to continue hearing a lot of outside noise when it comes to Sanders.
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