Stephen A. Smith Reacts to Browns’ Decision to Bench Shedeur Sanders in 2-Min Drill

Many believe the Cleveland Browns made a questionable decision this past weekend, taking Shedeur Sanders out in a 2-minute drill. Most expected that Sanders would have an opportunity to run a 2-minute drill at the end of the game, but head coach Kevin Stefanski went a different direction. In his defense, Sanders didn’t have a great showing during his final preseason game.

Sanders completed three of six passes, was sacked multiple times, and threw for 14 yards. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN believes that his brutal play in the earlier stages of the game was the reason Stefanski didn’t give him a chance in the 2-minute drill. Smith even went as far as saying that he was protecting Sanders from himself. 

“Shedeur Sanders looked very, very bad,” said Smith. “Very bad. There’s no way around that against third and fourth stringers. When you talk about 11 dropbacks, five sacks, just three completions, four three-and-outs in five series. One fumble recovered by a teammate.”

“I think when you perform that badly, it doesn’t mean that it’s the end,” said Smith. “It doesn’t mean he can’t play in the NFL. It means that he had a very, very bad afternoon. But its as a very bad afternoon. And because it was a very bad afternoon, one can easily argue that Kevin Stefanski was trying to save him from himself. Whether you agree or disagree I think that he’s in a position where he can make that argument legitimately and it would be very difficult to argue with based on what we saw.”

Would the Browns Cut Shedeur Sanders?

Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns have heard the criticism for how they’ve handled the quarterback situation so far. Again, it’s tough to blame them too much, considering they took Sanders with a fifth-round pick.

If he isn’t who he is, many wouldn’t view this situation as one to watch. In fact, some could argue that the team might cut a fifth-round pick at this stage of the preseason.

Browns Tuning Out the Noise

When asked about the situation, the Cleveland Browns head coach said that he doesn’t concern himself with things outside of the building. He wants to see Sanders develop, which he understands will be in the best interest of the Browns. 

“I don’t concern myself with outside types of things, but I’m committed to his development, just like all of our rookies,” Stefanski said, per NFL.com. “We’ll continue to focus on getting our guys better, and that’s what we’ll stay committed to, and that’s what’s important to me.”

Others have also spoken about the situation, including veteran Joe Flacco. If one player understands what it’s like to be at a high and a low point in the NFL, it’s Flacco, who has been in this league for a very long time and has reached the ultimate top. 

“That’s part of being a rookie. You’re going to get thrown into situations that maybe you don’t think are ideal,” Flacco said. “It’s part of what makes a football player, is learning how to deal with those situations and learn from them.”