The Shedeur Sanders case has been a bizarre one to follow throughout the season. After debates and conjecture about who really drafted him for the Cleveland Browns, he started the year as the third-string quarterback for the franchise before being elevated after Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Since then, he’s been the backup to Dillon Gabriel, drafted two rounds and 50 picks before him, barring time missed due to injury. Even as head coach Kevin Stefanski continues to keep Sanders on the bench, he has made some revelations about the work going on during practice.
Shedeur Sanders Is Winning Kevin Stefanski Over
The start for Gabriel as the team’s starting quarterback has been rough. As the Browns have held a 1-4 record, his individual production has also left a lot to be desired. Beyond ranking second-last on PFSN’s QB Impact, the raw numbers are startling.
Tallying 850 passing yards in five starts for an average of 170 yards per game, he’s thrown just six touchdowns while completing a little over 58.2% of his passing attempts and a pedestrian five yards per attempt.
However, even with underwhelming performances from their designated starter, Stefanski has insisted on keeping him in the QB1 role, which has led to Sanders being limited to a bench role.
But the tides might finally be turning. While he hasn’t given any indication of elevating the second-generation superstar, the former two-time Coach of the Year had some rare praise for the work Deion Sanders’ son is putting in.
Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN confirmed on X that the youngster hasn’t yet gotten practice snaps with the starting unit. But there were some positives that Stefanski took away from his game behind the scenes.
“He’s doing a really nice job, including just now coming off the field with the red zone drill that we did, so continues to work very hard, doing a nice job in meetings, doing a good job.”
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A divisional game in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens is next on their schedule. The last time the two teams played, Baltimore dominated en route to a 41-17 victory. Since then, they have only gotten better, as the defense has continued its upward trajectory.
As a result, there is a high likelihood that Cleveland is blown out once again. In that case, it’ll be interesting to see if Stefanski finally relents and puts Sanders into the game. But with no practice reps alongside the starting lineup, it seems tough to imagine him making such a call without preamble during the game.