Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Gets Bad News About His NFL Future
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders faces an uncertain 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.
What is Keeping Raiders' Offense is So Close, Yet So Far Away
The Las Vegas Raiders' most recent two losses have solidified their roster needs moving forward. The Raiders' offense has shown potential, but without added production from their skill players, the Raiders' offense will continue to struggle.
What the Raiders Need
The Raiders traded wide receiver Jakobi Meyers ahead of the trade deadline, after also adding wide receiver Tyler Lockett days prior. Still, the Raiders lack of depth at wide receiver could be alleviated by the emergence of rookie wide receivers Dont'e Thornton and Jack Bech.
Both players have struggled in unique ways this season. Thornton had a costly penalty and drop in Week 10. Heading into Thursday's game, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll recently noted what he hopes is next for Thornton.
“He gains more experience and more confidence to do things exactly the way we want him to. He has always played hard, and we're just counting on him to just keep going. This is a great chance for him to answer,” Carroll said ahead of the Raiders’ Thursday night matchup against the Denver Broncos.
“It's a great chance for Lock [Tyler Lockett] to go ahead and answer, too, and help us out. And it'll be spread across the board. But I'm anxious for D [Dont'e Thornton Jr.] to be up. I did not like not having him last week."
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Las Vegas would also benefit from its second-round wide receiver, Jack Bech, to play more of a role than he has. After the rookie wide receiver did not play a single offensive snap in Week 9, Bech played 14 snaps against the Denver Broncos in Week 10. He was only targeted once.
The Raiders' offense totaled fewer than 200 net yards Thursday night. Heading into Week 10, Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly elaborated on Bech's development.
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"Jack's [Bech] done a nice job. He's gotten to play multiple positions. Whenever you're not the starting receiver, you have to play multiple positions, because typically, we go into games with just five receivers. So, you've got to back up the Z, you got to back up the slot, you got to back up the X, and so you've got to play multiple roles,” Kelly said.
“So, you don't get to put them in just one spot and have them just stay in one spot, because it's just the depth the NFL puts you in that situation. So, both him and Dont'e [Thornton Jr.] are coming along. The transition for any rookie is a difficult transition, whether you're an offensive lineman or a running back or a receiver, so those guys are giving us everything. They practice hard, so we'll continue to see how they develop."
