Shedeur Sanders wowed fans in his NFL preseason debut on Friday evening. Ahead of the game, there were reports that Sanders hadn’t received first-team reps at practice and had been forced to throw against equipment staff members at training camp. After the Browns’ 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers, Sanders addressed these rumors. “I’m not […]
Shedeur Sanders wowed fans in his NFL preseason debut on Friday evening. Ahead of the game, there were reports that Sanders hadn’t received first-team reps at practice and had been forced to throw against equipment staff members at training camp. After the Browns’ 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers, Sanders addressed these rumors.
“I’m not really concerned about that at all,” Sanders said. “I only can control what I’m able to do and get out there. And this was reps for me. This was a lot of reps, overall, for me. So, I guess this is my practice. And I feel like practice went good today. We won.”
In the triumph, Sanders completed 14-of-his-23 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing an interception. Sanders also tallied 19 rushing yards on four carries.
Until this past week, Sanders wasn’t expected to start in the Browns’ preseason opener. He is currently listed as the fourth quarterback on the Browns’ depth chart, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel — in that order.
Alas, Sanders was named the Browns’ preseason starter after Pickett and Gabriel suffered injuries in training camp. Sanders didn’t allow his opportunity to go to waste and left the sports world buzzing, with stars like LeBron James congratulating the rookie QB on his performance.
Despite the outside praise, Sanders wasn’t completely satisfied with his performance. Moreover, he believes fans can expect to see more in the future.
“I’m just getting my feet wet. That’s it,” Sanders said. “This is a good practice showing, overall. I feel like I did everything I could tonight. I feel like there’s definitely room for improvement in many areas, overall… When you don’t play for so long and you get back out there, you gotta find your rhythm. You gotta find your groove.
“It’s the first time for everything. It’s the first time not even having Pops as a coach, where he knows me you know what I mean? So, it’s definitely changed and it’s definitely different… I’m just thankful for the opportunity.”
Shedeur Sanders silenced many critics with his performance on Friday. Numerous media pundits questioned if Sanders was ready for the moment and even claimed the Browns were setting the former Colorado standout up to fail.
If the Browns had any such intentions, they failed miserably. On Aug. 16, Sanders will look to build on his momentum as the Browns square off against the Philadelphia Eagles in their second preseason game.
Category: Football
