The Cleveland Browns have had to manage their quarterback battle closely, with four quarterbacks competing all summer. While no decision has been made yet on who will be the starter, Ryan Fitzpatrick believes all signs point to Joe Flacco.
“If I was a betting man, Joe Flacco is gonna go into the year as the starter,” Fitzpatrick said. “He has history there, he has success there, and I think it’s a great story. He’s a guy that’ll bring calm, he’s the guy that’s going to be able to get them off on the right foot. As the season goes along, when you draft guys early, and when you have young exciting guys, they’re excited for Gabriel, we could see him inserted into the lineup.”
Shedeur Sanders was last on the depth chart when the unofficial list came out, which isn’t surprising considering he was throwing passes to equipment staff during some training camp practices.
“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’s Cleveland Goldhammer said.
However, Sanders started for the Browns on Friday and showed that he deserves to move up the depth chart. The rookie threw for two touchdowns in the game. Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins believes Sanders is the biggest star Cleveland has seen since LeBron James.
“Shedeur got a preseason game feeling like a playoff opener. Like I said, most star power for a Rookie in Cleveland since Lebron,” Perkins posted.
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This is high praise from Perkins, but there’s no denying Sanders has a huge following. While Sanders isn’t held to the same standard James faced when he arrived in Cleveland, his popularity is undeniable. The rookie can continue proving he belongs as a top QB in the organization, and maybe in time, he will have the same expectations as Cleveland’s very own.