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From dominating college football to navigating one of the NFL’s toughest rookie seasons, Shedeur Sanders has seen both extremes. Entering Year 2, the Browns quarterback has sent a direct message about the adversity that shaped him.
“It was just a tough year last year. So all my expectations, when I look back, I’m like, ‘Damn, at least I made it through there. At least I made some crazy plays out there.’ So it’s like, I got it in me. All I gotta do now is just show everybody else,” said Sanders in his conversation with Nadeska Alexis through ESPN Cleveland.
Back in his college career, Sanders was one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the country. However, everything changed when the Browns drafted him in the fifth round.
During the same July 21 conversation with ESPN’s Nadeska Alexis, Sanders also expressed that he understood what he had to do.
“The season starts, just consistency. That’s it. I can’t be consistent on the field and not have consistency in my personal life,” said Sanders.
Last year, Sanders had just 1,400 passing yards and seven touchdowns. On top of that, PFF gave him a 44.1 grade, ranking him 42nd out of 43 qualified quarterbacks.
His only standout performance that season came in Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans, when he finished with 364 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a 60-yard touchdown connection with Jerry Jeudy.
Despite the rough season as a rookie, Sanders is not dwelling too much on the past. Rather, he views last season as a learning experience and aims to prove he can become the Browns’ long-term franchise quarterback
This season, he is competing with Deshaun Watson, the Browns’ favored quarterback. While many believe the veteran will be the team’s starter, Mike Florio has some advice for the young QB.
Mike Florio thinks Shedeur Sanders can claim the starting job
During OTAs and minicamps, Deshaun Watson was ahead of Shedeur Sanders in nearly every category, but the gap wasn’t that wide. In fact, Cleveland.com’s NFL insider Mary Kay Cabot felt that Sanders had already bridged the gap to some extent.
Meanwhile, Mike Florio has taken a rational approach to the QB race. The Pro Football Network NFL insider believes that Shedeur Sanders has likely been told he can’t wait until game day to flip the switch.
Instead, he must earn that opportunity by doing all the little things right even when it’s not a live-game situation. Florio expressed that if Sanders takes Monken’s words seriously, he certainly has a good chance to become the starter.
“But that’s the key. Full commitment to the process of learning and executing Monken’s offense. Of course, if Shedeur does it well enough to win the job, the challenge becomes doing it well enough to hold the job beyond 2026,” wrote Florio on July 15.
Training camp will be the ultimate test, where not only the fans but also the Browns’ opponents will find out who the team’s starting quarterback is.
Given that, what are your thoughts on Shedeur Sanders?
