Everyone is wondering when Shedeur Sanders will actually get on the field for the Cleveland Browns, especially with fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel having struggled so much over his first four starts.
However, whether it has been injuries or the Browns simply saying that they are sticking with Gabriel, we don’t appear to be any closer to Sanders making his debut.
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ESPN’s Tony Grossi questions exactly what is going on with Sanders — who was inactive last week due to a back injury — and wonders if the University of Colorado product actually wants to play for Cleveland.
“What is starting to become a mystery to me is how could he have three different injuries without even taking No. 1 reps? Tired arm, shoulder, and now a back,” Grossi said. “… I’m wondering, does he want to play?”
Fellow ESPN host Tony Rizzo then chimed in himself.
“Either these are made up injuries, or somebody doesn’t want him to play, or he doesn’t want to play. I don’t know what it is.”
Sanders was expected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but instead, he slipped all the way to Round 5, where the Browns traded up to land him. They also took Gabriel two rounds before him.
Sanders entered the season as Cleveland’s third-string quarterback behind Joe Flacco and Gabriel, but Gabriel supplanted Flacco as the starter heading into Week 5, and Flacco was subsequently traded. That made Sanders the primary backup.
Gabriel has thrown for 702 yards, five touchdowns and a couple of interceptions while completing 59.9 percent of his passes and posting a 78.4 passer rating over six appearances and four starts this season. He went 21-for-35 with 156 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of picks in the Browns’ Week 8 loss to the New England Patriots (they had a Week 9 bye).
The general consensus has been that as long as Gabriel continues to labor, we will see Sanders at some point during the second half of the season, but now, that line of thinking is in question.
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Maybe Cleveland simply does not want to play its hand right now, but there is also no doubt that these injuries are a bit odd.
The Browns will face the New York Jets this Sunday.
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