The Cleveland Browns have several options when it comes to shaping their quarterback room. Originally, there was a four-man competition, but veteran Joe Flacco has officially been named the starter. One of the most talked-about names throughout the offseason has been Shedeur Sanders. While he hasn’t seen many reps on the field, he’s already making a significant impact off it — particularly in the community.
“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never seen what Shedeur Sanders is doing this early on in a player’s career,” Cecil Shorts said on Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan. “I’ve never seen that before, I’ve never seen a rookie come into the league and before he even played a snap is already in the Garden Valley Projects … All the things he’s doing (in the community). It’s a special thing he’s doing, that’s not normal.”
Despite the praise, Sanders has received very few first-team reps during training camp. At one point, he was even seen throwing to members of the equipment staff on the sidelines due to a lack of on-field opportunities.
“Shedeur Sanders apparently is throwing not to receivers but to equipment guys. They have got equipment guys snapping him the ball and then also running the routes. Mahomes is throwing to Kelce, Shedeur is throwing to equipment guys,” ESPN Cleveland’s Aaron Goldhammer said.
Now that Flacco has secured the starting job, questions remain about which quarterback might be the odd man out. Kenny Pickett has seen limited action in the preseason due to injury, while Dillon Gabriel impressed in his most recent start. If the Browns decide to move on from a quarterback, Sanders appears to be the likely candidate.
“The rookie that they would probably get rid of would be the one they took in the 5th round,” CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco wrote.
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Cutting Sanders could open the door for him to thrive elsewhere — somewhere he wouldn’t be buried at the bottom of the depth chart. Letting him go wouldn’t make much sense, especially considering he has outperformed Gabriel for most of training camp. Sanders has been vocal about maximizing every opportunity, and a trade could give him the fresh start he needs to do just that.