CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders needs more practice reps. He needs to play with starters during the preseason. And coach Kevin Stefanski can’t make these changes fast enough.
Hurry up!
On the Sanders fan club’s timeline, Cleveland has fallen behind on his development plan. The fifth-round pick ranks fourth on the Browns’ first depth chart. He lags behind fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel in camp reps. And he’s tied with you and me in the first-team snaps (zero).
To his advocates, this is a problem. To those people, I would reply: Slow down. We’re still in training camp.
What’s the rush? Throughout NFL history only one fifth-round quarterback has started their team’s first game as a rookie (Dewey Warren, 1968 Cincinnati Bengals) because, to state the obvious, fifth-round picks come with flaws. Sanders has them, too. Regardless of where you think he should’ve been drafted, he lasted until pick 144.
And I think we can all agree on the following: Thrusting an unprepared rookie into premature action serves neither team nor prospect.
To that point, the Browns play five playoff teams during their first six games, and that tally doesn’t include their Week 1 matchups against Joe Burrow’s Bengals. Three of those five teams had top 10 defenses (by yards per play allowed) last season. Three of the six games involve travel (two road games, one London game).
Does that sound like a successful rookie runway? No? So again, I ask: Why stress Sanders’ standing in August?
Unless you’re concerned about Cleveland cutting him — and general manager Andrew Berry likes retaining his draft picks — then Sanders has plenty of time to earn a promotion. Plan your Sanders watch parties in late November, maybe early December. Not August.
If Cleveland fades quickly from playoff contention, as many expect, veterans like Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett will lose relevance. Stefanski’s quarterback taste will skew younger. Pressure to win, along with strength of schedule, will subside as the season progresses.
From Week 7 onward, the Browns play three teams who made the playoffs last season. They’ll play five who ranked 17th or worse in pass defense (by opponent yards per attempt). And over Cleveland’s final six games, it leaves Ohio once (four home games, one game in Cincinnati).
Give one rookie seasoning and a softer schedule. Give the other better opponents less time to prepare. Tell me which one plays better.
This isn’t complicated, and “this” includes Sanders’ competition with Gabriel. If Gabriel continues to struggle against first-team defenses, as he has during training camp, his playing time will reflect that reality. If Sanders is as good as fans believe, he will earn more trust from his coaches.
This “problem” with Cleveland’s quarterback process will solve itself, eventually.
But patience is hard to practice, especially with a famous quarterback. Even in the best-case scenario, where Sanders plays and succeeds later this year, I can picture his fans projecting anxiety onto the Browns’ draft plans.
Why won’t they name Sanders their 2026 starter? What if they draft another quarterback in the first round?
To that I would reply: Slow down. The Browns would love to roster two young, promising passers next April. But they’re still searching for the first one.
And the calendar just flipped to August.
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