Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Gets Bad News About His NFL Future
Shedeur Sanders hasn’t taken a single regular-season snap for the Cleveland Browns, but the rookie quarterback is already facing questions about his future.
Sanders is currently the backup in Cleveland to Dillon Gabriel, who has gone 1-3 in his starts this season. Despite Gabriel’s struggles, the Browns have shown little interest in giving Sanders a shot.
In ESPN’s midseason mock draft, analysts Mike Greenberg, Field Yates, and Mel Kiper Jr. projected the Browns to select Oregon quarterback Dante Moore with the No. 6 overall pick — a move that would immediately put pressure on Sanders’ standing in Cleveland.
According to their projections, Moore would be the third quarterback off the board, following Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who goes No. 1 to the New Orleans Saints, and Alabama’s Ty Simpson, who lands with the New York Jets at No. 3.
“This is tough,” Kiper said. “Shedeur is there. It doesn’t seem like they’ll ever give Shedeur much of a chance, right? Dillon Gabriel is playing, but we don’t think Dillon Gabriel is a franchise quarterback. … Dante Moore, for me, I still have him number one on the board.”
The Browns have two picks in the first round. There’s still a lot that needs to play out, but if Cleveland takes a quarterback high, it’ll further bury Sanders on the depth chart or force him to look for another team.
Mel Kiper Vocal Supporter of Browns QB Shedeur Sanders
The projection is especially troublesome coming from Kiper, who has been a vocal supporter of Sanders. The veteran draft analyst had Sanders as his top quarterback available in the draft and was stunned when Sanders fell to the fifth round.
“I don’t care what the league says,” Kiper said recently. “The league doesn’t speak about quarterbacks, they don’t know any more than you or I do about quarterbacks, really. Everybody’s clueless about quarterbacks including the National Football League geniuses, OK? They don’t know. Even when they have them, they don’t know. (The Browns) had Baker Mayfield, they let him go. …
“Didn’t nine executives have (Shedeur Sanders) going as the No. 1 quarterback at this same time last year? What happened? Nothing happened on the field. All the sudden, ‘We’re washing our hands of Shedeur Sanders. We don’t want him, we don’t want him, we don’t want him.’ To me, the organizations ruin players. They ruin quarterbacks.”
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Healthy After Injury
Sanders missed the Browns’ Week 8 matchup against the New England Patriots with a back injury he suffered later in the week. He’s been rehabbing hard and is expected to resume the backup role on Sunday against the Jets as the Browns emerge from their bye week.
“He will be the number two, yes,” Stefanski confirmed on Friday.
The Browns sit at 2-6, and their playoff chances are already hanging by a thread. If Gabriel — a third-round pick — continues to struggle, Sanders could soon get his shot.
In a bid to jumpstart an offense that ranks near the bottom of the league in nearly every major category, the Browns handed play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees this week, hoping the change will provide the spark they desperately need.
49ers’ George Kittle Poised to Be X-Factor in Crucial Week 10 Rematch with Rams
The San Francisco 49ers seemingly had no chance of upending the Los Angeles Rams way back in Week 5 when the two NFC West rivals met on
After all, the Niners had just suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars the week prior, one that cost them injuries to both quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, which have kept the two out of action ever since.
Yet a shorthanded San Francisco squad pulled off an overtime win, thanks largely to backup quarterback Mac Jones' prowess and chemsitry with newly added veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, whose 142 yards proved to be a difference maker.
Jones and the 49ers, though, were without one of their best weapons that game, tight end George Kittle, who was still on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury all the way back in Week 1.
Now, with the Niners poised to square off against LA for Round 2 of the rivalry this season, Kittle might have to be a key X-factor in ensuring San Francisco sweeps the series.
George Kittle might need to take over 49ers vs. Rams in Week 10
Los Angeles' defense is cooking at the moment, having held its last three opponents to no more than 10 points in a single contest. On the year, coordinator Chris Shula's squad owns the league's No. 2-ranked scoring defense while surrendering an average of just 4.7 yards per play, equally adept against both the run and pass.
Kittle, who finally hit 100 yards on the season with his second touchdown during the 49ers' Week 9 victory over the New York Giants, might need to be the biggest offensive X-factor for Jones, especially if LA aims to contain the most versatile of weapons at the Niners' disposal, running back Christian McCaffrey.
Over his career, Kittle has 860 receiving yards against the Rams, the most versus any single opponent.
And while an abbreviated 2025 campaign has mostly kept Kittle from dominating the stat sheet, a true breakout-kind of performance would go a long way toward ensuring San Francisco reclaims dominance over its Southern California NFC West rivals when the two squads face off on Sunday, Nov. 9.
