Shedeur Sanders was held out of practice and the Browns revealed why.
Browns Reveal Reason for Holding Shedeur Sanders Out of Saturday Practice originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Cleveland Browns have four new quarterbacks on the roster as they all compete for the starting job this season — Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett.
The Browns signed Flacco to a one-year deal, drafted Gabriel (third round) and Sanders (fifth round) in April and acquired Pickett in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.
During Saturday’s practice — Day 9 of Browns training camp — only Flacco and Gabriel received team reps. Flacco went 11-of-18 with one touchdown, while Gabriel completed 11-of-22 passes and also threw a touchdown.
As for Sanders, he participated in just an early walkthrough-paced drill and also ran sprints with the wide receivers and tight ends, according to Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Browns Explained Why Sanders Sat Out
After practice, the Browns revealed that Sanders didn’t receive any team reps because he’s dealing with "a little soreness." Instead of playing through it, Sanders will now get two days to rest his arm with a player's day off on Sunday.
The Browns will return for Day 10 of training camp on Monday.
Shedeur Sanders Competing With Former College Football Star Dillon Gabriel
It’s uncommon for two drafted rookie quarterbacks to compete for a role on the same team. Typically, teams draft one and, if needed, bring in another as an undrafted free agent.
In this rare scenario, Gabriel likely holds the upper hand over Sanders, as he was selected two rounds earlier. While Sanders has every opportunity to prove himself, the Browns already did extensive homework on both quarterbacks — and if they believed the former Colorado Buffaloe was their guy, they likely would have taken him over Gabriel in Round 3.
Gabriel made three stops at the college level, beginning his career at UCF before transferring to Oklahoma and then to Oregon. In addition to being named a first-team All-American, Big Ten MVP, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, he set several records. The 24-year-old holds the record for most career touchdowns responsible for (190) and most career points responsible for (1,136).
Related: Shedeur Sanders Hit With Sour Comments on Browns Future
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Football