After generating headlines last week for his comments about being able to play better than some starting quarterbacks in the NFL, Shedeur Sanders took a different approach in the wake of the Cleveland Browns promoting Dillon Gabriel to replace Joe Flacco.
Rather than answer reporter questions with words, Sanders decided to mime his responses when asked about the Browns’ quarterback change and his role on the team.
While speaking to ESPN Cleveland last week, Sanders said he’s “ready to play right now” and is “capable of doing better” than several current starters.
Given how high Sanders’ profile is, those comments received a lot of attention. Head coach Kevin Stefanski even got asked about it in the lead up to last week’s game against the Detroit Lions.
“Yeah, he’s doing a good job. I hope all of our guys feel like they’re ready . . . and they’re working very hard at it. We do a lot of work with our players, rookies, vets, all our guys, spending every available minute that we have with them, getting them ready physically, mentally, whether it’s in the weight room, the meeting room, out on the field. So all of our guys are working very hard.”
The Browns starting job seemed to be a question mark coming out of the Lions game. They were held to 10 points and Flacco threw two more interceptions, giving him a league-high eight turnovers through four weeks.
Stefanski confirmed on Wednesday the change from Flacco to Gabriel for this week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in London.
Even though Gabriel was elevated on the depth chart, Sanders will remain the third string quarterback. Flacco will serve as the backup.
Expert lip readers might be able to glean some of the information Sanders was conveying, but he’s also smart enough to know that there was probably no good that would come from him actually saying anything out loud.
Sanders will continue to do what he has done since being drafted. There could end up coming a point this season when his number does get called. When that moment arrives, he will almost certainly have plenty to say with actual words.
For now, Sanders and the Browns will look to get their second win of the season in a tough matchup against the Vikings across the pond in Week 5.
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