Fans are still awaiting the NFL regular season debut of Shedeur Sanders.
The Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback has still yet to step on the field, as the organization continues to evaluate third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. While Gabriel is not showing signs of being a franchise signal caller, he’s also had limited time to prove himself and isn’t turning the ball over at a high rate.
Despite this, an NFL MVP believes the long-awaited debut of Sanders is coming soon.
NFL MVP Joe Theismann Predicts When Shedeur Sanders Will Get on the Field
Joe Theismann is a former NFL MVP, All-Pro, two-time Pro Bowler, Offensive Player of the Year, and much more. It’s safe to say he’s qualified to evaluate QBs, and that’s exactly what he did with Sanders and Gabriel in an exclusive interview with PFSN’s Alex Kennedy.
Theismann predicts that Sanders could see the field as soon as Week 13 when the Browns face off against the San Francisco 49ers, saying, “I think they want to evaluate Dillon. It’s tough to evaluate somebody in six-to-eight weeks. I’m guessing if they continue to struggle over the next two weeks, I’m going to venture a guess and say Shedeur will get on the field, but you still have to see what you’ve got. Like I said, in Dillon’s case, what’s around him? I think they’re a pretty good defensive football team, but what’s around him?”
Gabriel has been the No. 37-ranked quarterback this season in PFSN’s QB Impact metric, with a grade of 51.6. For context, the only quarterback with a worse grade than Gabriel is Cincinnati Bengals QB Jake Browning, who posted a 49.1 QBi grade before getting benched for Joe Flacco. While there’s no telling if Sanders would perform any better in the Browns’ mediocre offense, it’s worth giving him a shot before season’s end.
“If you just give him this small sample size of work, you’re really not going to be able to make a true evaluation,” Theismann added. “Shedeur is not going anywhere. He’ll be there and he’ll continue to learn and work and get ready for when his opportunity comes, but I would be surprised if it would happen within the next couple of weeks, if it did.”
The Super Bowl champion does believe that Gabriel has not had sufficient time to prove himself, sharing, “A longer look [for Gabriel]. I think that’s basically what they want to do. You’ve drafted both these kids and you drafted Dillon higher than you did Shedeur, not that it mattered. Whatever they were going to do, they wound up with four of ’em on the roster.
“I just think this is [them saying], ‘We need to see more. We need to see more throws. We need to see more command of the game. We need to see what he looks like on the field. We need to see him in the huddle.’
“Like I said, it’s a very short sample size right now, and so I think it just has to take a bit more time. It’s become obvious they’re really not going anywhere, but they can be a problem to some people going forward, for whomever they play on their schedule. I think it’s about the sample size,” Theismann concluded.
Across seven starts, Gabriel has thrown for 869 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions, with a 58.6% completion percentage.
Throughout his NFL career, Theismann totaled 25,206 passing yards, 160 touchdowns, and 138 interceptions, plus 1,815 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. His best season came in 1983 when he won the NFL MVP award after throwing for 3,714 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.